Tempest Of Flames

by KnightOwl1717

Summary:

After using her immense destructive power to single handedly repel an invasion from the rival Sea Kingdom, Phoebe is forced to go into hiding. Sent to the Candy Kingdom for her own safety, she arrives with a new look, a new name, a new family, and her new life as a freshman college student.

Meanwhile, Bronwyn has started her freshman year at Candy Kingdom University. Having recently been burned ny her previous relationship, she had no desire to start anything new anytime soon.

That is, until she meets a mysterious new exchange student who threatens to set her entire world aflame.

Chapter 1

 

 

General Naikaris let the message he received from his war courier fall to the ground. He didn’t bother destroying it. There was no point in secrecy. Everyone witnessing or participating in this battle knew what it said.

 It was over. Any hope of regaining their lands from the Fire Kingdom had been buried under the ash of its queen. All he heard was the roar of distant pyres and the screams of his men being utterly sterilized from the Red Lord’s domain. The only thing they were fighting for now was to determine how many men left the field alive.

17 battalions wiped out in under an hour. No confirmed survivors. Regiments with hundreds of years of heraldry and tradition, their banners many times older than the ones who carried them, gone. Wiped out. Burned into ash.

          “Sir, we have to go!” His adjutant, Higa, had his hand on his shoulder.

Naikairis’s eyes were locked on the Red Queen. She was strangely beautiful. A titan of fire, ash, and fury. In the distance, she was a god of destruction, glowing in the twilight, screaming as she destroyed the army under his command. She was getting closer. He shook himself out of his stupor and faced Higa.

          “Grab every bannerman you can and get them out of here, I am going to the Eastern flank.”

          “They’re gone sir.”

          “I need to find my son.”

          “-they’re gone sir. She killed them all.” Higa yelled. “Don’t add yourself to the pyre as well!”

          “Damn you Higa, I’m going!”

Higa moved to restrain his commander as they tried to move past. “You still have a daughter!”

          Naikairis had no response to that. Higa was right, of course. His scouts all relayed the same report. There was nothing left of the battalions in the East. He had hoped that, on this one occasion, they had made a mistake.

          But he knew that wasn’t the case. They wouldn’t get this wrong. No-one who sees 25 thousand men die, screaming, misinterprets that.

          His son was dead. Slain by the Ash Queen herself.

          “Alright, Higa, alright.” Naikairis said, in a quiet voice. There would be time to mourn later.

Naikairis turned to his friend of 20 years, a fierce and resolute look in his eyes. “Let’s get our men out of here.”

          Drawing upon the remaining reserves of his combat discipline, he called out orders to mobilize his remaining command staff and find a new steed. It would be a long and terrible retreat, but he would do his duty as their commander and lead them even in defeat.  

 

 

 

General Flint surveyed the battlefield before giving the order.

          “Dispatch skirmishers. Ride them down and give no quarter.”

          “Yes, my lord.” His retainer bowed and moved to execute the command.

          Phoebe did it. Thought Flint. We’re safe, for now.

          The battle had not gone well until his sister’s intervention. General Naikairus was both competent and savvy, and he consistently had the upper hand during the campaign. He had more troops, more resources, better intelligence, and had access to gunpowder artillery. By all accounts, they should have lost. The only thing they had hope for was to make it costly enough to sue for peace, but only after the lands and wealth of the Fire Kingdom were greatly diminished.

          Until his sister intervened. He knew she was powerful, but he had no idea. She obliterated them. She was a living weapon of mass destruction, akin to the Mushroom Bombs of myth. Her gaze was death. Nothing but charred bone and ash remained of thousands of the enemy’s troops. An entire army broken at her whim. Her Father would have been proud of such wanton destruction.

          I see why you were so wary of her, Princess, he thought, thinking of Bubblegum’s efforts to imprison and contain her.

All witnesses to this battle now knew of her true power. The Sea Kingdom would not return if she was still on the Throne. It would be tantamount to suicide.

          But what if she isn’t?

          Previous events had shown she was vulnerable to assassination, poisoning, and manipulation. This was like any other ruler, but she was now the shield of the entire kingdom. She was going to have a massive target on her back, and be the subject of numerous, unending assassination attempts by the Sea Kingdom until she was neutralized.

          She had to be protected at all costs.

         

             

 

 

 

          Phoebe was in a daze when she returned to Flint’s command tent. The war was over. The day was saved. In the face of certain defeat, she had rose to the occasion and turned the tide.

          I didn’t want this, she thought, I never wanted this. She tried every avenue she could think of to maintain the peace with the Sea Kingdom. The human sized, upright, salamander-esque people had originally settled in this land, but were pushed out to sea 200 years prior by one of her ancestors. It was a necessity. Their people were dying, and needed an environment they could flourish in.

          Now they were back, with a vengeance, and their goal was nothing less than retaking all of the lands they lost all those years ago.

          It would mean death or subjugation of all flame people residing in the Fire Kingdom. Failure wasn’t an option, so just when their lines broke, she threw everything she had at the invaders.

          It worked. They had no answer to her power. Their water magic, which she had feared, held no providence within the Fire Kingdom. There simply wasn’t enough moisture to work with, so she wreaked wholesale, unchecked havoc among the enemy. She left none alive. She burned and burned until the ran screaming from her, then she burned some more to make sure they never forgot the price of invading the Fire Kingdom.

          She felt awful. She was exhausted, having barely enough energy to fly back to the command tent. She was also still mentally in shock at the death and destruction she caused. It wouldn’t be something she soon forgot.

          Her brother caught her as she stumbled into the tent. “Sister, are you hurt?.”

          “No, just tired. Where are Finn, and Huntress?”

          “With the skirmish detachments. Huntress is going to try to figure out the trail they used to breach our walls in the South.”

          “How many did we lose?”

          “I’m still waiting on the casualty figures, but it’s likely high.”

          Phoebe said nothing as she went and sat on her throne in the command tent.

          “I have taken the liberty of re-establishing our defensive positions that were over-run in the East.”

          Phoebe nodded. “They’ll be back.”

          “Not as long as you’re on the throne.”

          Phoebe considered the implications of her brother’s words. “Which means I am now their primary target.”

          “I came to the same conclusion.”

          “What do you recommend?”

          “You can’t stay here.”

          Phoebe’s eyes blazed. “Not an option. I am not abdicating the throne right after a war with another one potentially on the horizon.”

          “I don’t know if we have any other options, sister. Our resources were stretched as it was trying to keep you safe from potential usurpers from your own people, and many of the men responsible for your protection were lost on the field. Add the Sea Kingdom, and I cannot guarantee your safety within our borders. At all.”

          Phoebe rested her head on one of her hands and stared into space as she thought through different scenarios. He was right that she couldn’t stay. It was dangerous for her on a good day, and now a good portion of her loyal guard were gone. Plus, the Sea Kingdom’s spies were not something to be taken lightly. She was in mortal danger while she sat on the throne.

          On the other hand, her people needed leadership, and the optics of her disappearing right after this war were not good. People would say she had been killed, or worse, ran away. That was the last thing they needed. She needed ideas.

          “Bring me Cinnamon Bun.”

          “I’ll get him here myself.” Flint bowed before leaving.

          Cinnamon Bun was a strange sort, but he had grown wise and his dedication and loyalty were beyond reproach. Flint had learned to respect his opinion.

 

          After some time, Cinnamon Bun entered the command tent, out of breath. Flint had to find him out in the field, still leading his fire-wolf cavalry regiment in finding and transporting survivors of their own forces, while mopping up any remaining resistance they still encountered.

          “My Queen,” he said, as he bowed.

          “CB, we have a problem.”

          “It would seem so. Your brother told me everything on the way here.”

          “What are your thoughts?”

“Clear the tent!” CB called out. Immediately aides and retainers departed, leaving Flint, Himself, and his Queen alone inside the enclosure. Once he was sure no-one was listening, he continued.

          “The only solution would be to secretly name your brother as regent and use one of your doubles on the Throne. Then you could go into hiding with your major concern addressed.”

          “I see, and where would I hide?”

          Cinnamon Bun paused and rubbed his chin as he began pacing as he considered the problem. She could just disappear into the wilderness, but that cover would eventually fade. It would simply be a matter of time before the Sea Kingdom would track her down. They could trace her through the many lines of couriers and logistics required to maintain a “secret” hiding place. Once they were found, their cover would be blown and they would be back to square one.

          Another possibility would be to hide in another populated kingdom. This would solve the logistics concerned with sustaining a safe house as they could locally source what they needed, but it would be offset by the disturbance caused by their presence. Lease agreements, movement of personnel, and their general presence would create a definite footprint that would be hard to miss, especially when they went to the lengths necessary to entirely conceal the presence of someone.

          Unless…

          A thought occurred to the pastry.

 “You would have to become someone else.”

          The queen raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

          “Hiding in the wilds or a populated area both have drawbacks. If you were to take a believable cover identity, it would provide the greatest degree of protection. Especially if there is a double standing for you on the throne.”

          “Wouldn’t someone recognize me? I am the Ruler of the Fire Kingdom, after all.”

          An epiphany struck Flint. “No, I don’t think so. CB is on to something. They would recognize you as the ruler of the Fire Kingdom, but who would recognize you as Phoebe? Better yet, who would recognize you when you don’t even use that name? We change your hair. We give you a fake family. We put you in new clothes. We put you in a context and crowd that would never in a million years make that connection.”

          CB had an epiphany of his own. “I just so happen to have the perfect opportunity. Candy Kingdom University begins a new freshmen year in 3 weeks, and we have a number of student refugees attending. You did mention you wanted to go to college at some point? Why not now?”

          Flint nodded his head in agreement. “Interesting. The Candy Kingdom would be ideal.” He crossed his arms. “Princess Bubblegum’s penchant for centralized control and surveillance would make it difficult for spies to infiltrate unnoticed. Plus, any additional eyes put upon my sister would simply be interpreted as Bubblegum’s well-known paranoia about outsiders. The princess could keep a very close eye on you without drawing to much attention, ironically”

          Cinnamon Bun turned to Flint. “There is a matter of personal security. That’s the part I haven’t figured out yet. I would assume the, uh, ‘family’ assigned to her would be her personal bodyguards, but I do not know who would be loyal and capable enough to protect the queen while still maintaining a low profile. It would be quite conspicuous of any of the candidates I am thinking of would go missing. We would have to fake their deaths, which is a whole other trail to consider.”

          Flint had a wry smile as he listened to Cinnamon Bun’s concerns. “We outsource. Mercenaries.”

          “You would trust my life with Mercenaries?!” exclaimed the Princess.

          “No, but I would trust the life of a war refugee exchange student from a well off, but not noble family. To them, it will just be another contract. They won’t know its you. Princess Bubblegum would have their eye on them. Not to mention, your ridiculous ex-boyfriend lives in the area so if nothing else, you would have ready access to someone you do trust if the hired help doesn’t work out.”

          Cinnamon Bun continued where Flint left off. “Finn won’t know about you being there either. The less who know, the better. The only ones who would know would be the ones in this room and Princess Bubblegum. I know you still don’t fully trust her. I myself struggle with that, but in this case I firmly believe she would keep the secret.”

          Phoebe looked incredulous. “So, just so I am following: You both want to send me, the Princess of Flame, Ruler of the Fire Kingdom, and now ultimate nemesis of the Sea Kingdom, to University, as a student? A freshman even? And my bodyguards would be mercenaries?”

Flint and CB look at each other, then faced their Queen and nodded their heads. “Yes.” They said in unison.

Chapter 2

          Finn faced the tall, armored, flame elemental next to him. "I gotta be honest, Ogun, this doesn’t feel like a mop up job.” They had a moment to rest, so Finn took a moment to swig down as much water as he tried to arrange his thoughts.

          He, Ogun, and Huntress Wizard had been fighting since morning, the day beginning with a battle they thought they were winning, then losing, then winning again when he saw the destruction Phoebe sowed through the enemy ranks. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and the relief he felt at surviving the day was slowly eroding as the day went on. What was supposed to be a harassing engagement to expedite the enemy’s withdrawal had turned into an out and out brawl. 

          At least they were out of the ash strewn wasted. Now near the coast, Finn finally saw some of the first greenery he'd seen in over a week, not to mention the drastically more hospitable temperatures no longer requiring defensive magic to merely survive without frying. He couldn't imagine how Huntress was taking it, though she never strayed from her resolute silence which was her normal reaction to hardship. 

          They had found the trail the used to breach the Southern Wall; it was the cliffs near the southern shores. Instead of breaching the wall that was set in the valley below, a natural choke-point as well as the only feasible approach to the kingdom from the southern coast, the Sea Kingdom had scaled the sheer cliffs to the East with an entire army. The stout salamander-men could climb, apparently, and while the Kingdom had outposts on the cliffs, it was a token amount for observation, set to deter small teams which would be more within the realm of possibility for such a difficult ascent. Or so they thought. The defenders stood no chance, and the wall soon fell, leaving the entire kingdom without a defensive bastion to stem the tide from the sea.

          Ogun peered ahead. “Right. Skirmish my ass. They have a whole war party as their rear guard, plus defensive positions.” The warrior's voice sounded almost metallic as it resonated through his signature fire-wolf helm. The false visage snarled in anger, and while Ogun openly admitted it was somewhat impractical, it was undeniably intimidating. “We need to keep pushing them over the cliffs. They’re using our own damn wall against us down in the valley. We need to flank and hit them in the rear to break them.”

          Finn stowed his water. “Then it’s up to us. They won’t breach those walls anytime soon, but skirmishers aren’t enough to break the lines towards the cliffs. Any ideas?”

          “I think your girlfriend does. Look” Ogun pointed at a cloaked, leaf-haired green skinned woman perched atop a nearby tree. She was motioning for the pair to approach.

          Finn jogged to the tree with Ogun in tow. "What do you see?"

          Huntress spoke down to them, loud enough to hear, but short of a yell. "There's a trench ahead, as you both guessed. I don't see a viable path around." She paused, then briefly glanced at the two men below her. "At least for most of us, but I think there's another way. I can bend the tree at the left of that rock outcropping, the one just behind the trench,” She pointed at the desired target, then continued. “then I can keep their heads down as you clear the rest of the trench.”

          “They won’t be able to close the gap fast enough before we cross through. Good catch.” Boomed Ogun.

          “I'll wait until you get into position.” The woman nodded at Finn, signaling him to move. He ran with Ogun towards the enemy line.

          As they got closer, they moved to conceal themselves by brush and grass, both stowing their weapons as they crawled on all fours towards the trench. Behind them, fire kingdom skirmishers followed. 

          It was a difficult crawl. The soil was dry, broken up with sharp scree from the higher peak nearby. It jabbed and scraped alongside the tough, arid plant life they took cover in.

          Once in position, Finn gave the signal and Huntress began her work. Vines rose of the ground and wrapped themselves around the tree behind the trench, dragging it down and cutting the section off. She then loosed a half dozen or so spell-arrows, causing the remaining defenders to duck down or be outright killed.

          By the time the defenders had recovered from Huntress’s volley, Finn, Ogun, and Fire Kingdom skirmishers were in their midst.

          Finn weaved an efficient and clean line of death through the enemy line. A student of the legendary Rattleballs, his moves and cuts were marked by excellent economy of movement and every strike hit an enemy weak point. He had no need to pierce the enemy plate armor; his hits unerringly struck enemy weak points, leaving them crippled or killed as they crumpled to the ground, armor untouched.

Meanwhile, Ogun attacked with savage fury, lacking any of the precision or grace of his human counterpart. He deflected the spears of his adversaries with brutal parries from his shield, before retaliating with thrusts powerful enough to pierce directly through the enemy’s armor through the torso or head. If that didn’t work, he would move in close and smash them in the face with the edge of his shield, cracking skull and teeth with the force of the blow. His enemies were thrown to the ground, their armor bashed and mangled with their head caved in from further stomps from Ogun’s armored boot. He wanted to make sure the ones he put down stayed down.

Within moments, the trench was clear, and dozens of Fire Kingdom skirmishers were passing through unhindered as the tree prevented the defenders in the rest of the trench from closing the gap. Left with no choice, the defenders abandoned the trench to prevent themselves from being encircled.

 

 

“Major Higa! The trench has been breached!”

“Fall back! Fall back towards the wall!” Higa drew steel and prepared to make his stand. He turned to the eastern side of the trenches and saw Fire Kingdom soldiers, armed with bucklers and fire javelins, pouring out from behind a tree that had fallen over the trench. The tree was covered in moving vines.

          Sorcery. He turned to the tide-caster next to him. The wizard had already sensed it and were already charging energy above their head.

          He saw a tall, wiry flame-warrior in black plate armor exit the trench, their glowing eyes piercing through the snarling wolf helm they wore. Behind them ran a strange creature wearing a blue t-shirt and white bear hat, followed by a green-skinned woman who had already loosed an arrow when she came leaping into view.

          Higa had but a split second to duck and raise his shield as the arrow flew past him. At first, he thought it missed, but then he heard the gasp behind him and turned to see the tide-caster looking down in surprise, an arrow sticking out of their chest.

          Higa saw the energies the newt-mage had started to prepare begin to dissipate. His eyes drooping and falling to his knees, the tide-caster looked at the ocean one last time before throwing everything he had at one last gambit.

          A massive column of water rose from the sea, towering above the cliff face. It stood for but a second, then came crashing down on the terrified Fire Kingdom warriors.

 

          “Crap.” Ogun raised his shield and put as much of his burning body behind it as he could. There was no running or dodging this. He saw that Huntress had grown vines around the waists of her and Finn, but could do nothing for any of the fire warriors as the vines would simply burn through.

          The water roared as it came crashing down. Ogun’s shield saved his life, but he was still in bad shape when the water finished its downpour. His entire body sizzled with steam and he couldn’t feel his extremities. He fell to the side in pain, which cause him to sizzle even more on the damp ground. His mind faded.

          Finn and Huntress were splayed out on the ground, bits of seaweed tangled on their limbs and equipment. Slowly they came to, picking themselves off of the soaking ground. The Sea Kingdom troops had taken advantage of the pause to beat a hasty retreat down the cliff face, repelling down via pre-existing ropes before hitting the ground and running towards the Southern Wall.  

          “Finn!” Huntress cried, as she ran to the trembling human. She knew he was terrified of the Ocean, and this terrified even her.

          Finn was in shock. Huntress rubbed his back as he gathered his wits from watery assault. He looked at his girlfriend, and said, “Go, I’ll help the ones here. Finish this.” She kissed him, then ran in pursuit.

          Finn picked himself up and assessed the situation. Ogun appeared to be alive, but only just. Dozens of Fire Kingdom soldiers were dead, and more were wounded. More were coming across the trench though, this being only a minor setback in the larger battle. He limped over to Ogun and started to cover him with anything that was even remotely dry, then attempted to start a fire around him. He checked Ogun’s pockets and a packet of coal rations, still sealed from the moisture. Finn emptied their contents on the stack of wood and leaves and lit it. It wasn’t a large fire, but it would be enough to keep him stable until he re-ignited. He then went around to the other fire kingdom soldiers and did the same, though they fared far worse than even Ogun. He did what he could.

 

          General Naikairis was in the fight of his life. He had made his stand at the Southern Wall, using the adversary’s own defensive barrier against them. At first, the defense had gone well, but then the skirmish detachments that had at first been repelled were now supported by an entire fire wolf cavalry regiment. The fiery knights had dismounted and were now scaling the wall on makeshift ladders and grapples.

          The enemy was relentless, and the General was now down to taking up the blade himself once again. It had been a long while since he had to kill with his own hand, but he found he still had the skill and might to be a terror to the Fire Kingdom soldiers who dared cross blades with him.

          He was at the wall’s gate, which had just been breached. He knew he couldn’t hold this position for much longer, but the longer they held, the more ships could be readied and loaded. More lives would be saved.

          Then he saw Major Higa running toward him, soaking wet with several green arrows sticking out of his shield.

          Naikairis and Higa shared a knowing glance. No words needed to be exchanged. The Eastern trenches had fallen. The enemy had found the trail. They would soon be flanked and overrun.

          “Soldiers of the Tide! Stand tall and show them your fury! Every second you stand saves the lives of your brothers in arms!”

“No retreat!” His warriors chanted in unison.

“No surrender!” The General yelled in response.

Teekalloh! Teekalloh! Teekalloh!

His troops began their own memorial death chant. A tear came to his eyes in pride. He had failed, but there was no more honorable death than this. Perhaps history would be kind to him with this sacrifice.

“The Tide rises forever!

Teekalloh!

“For our ancestors!“

Teekalloh!

The Sea Kingdom soldiers fell one by one.

“For the Emp-“

Naikairis was thrown to the ground. A fire javelin had struck his shoulder, and was continuing to sear his flesh as it burned. He cried out in pain as he removed it from his shoulder, his armored gauntlet becoming oven hot as it grabbed the burning weapon. His vision began to fade as he embraced his end.

 

          Higa saw the General fall and leapt to his side. Colonel Vargo, the last remaining senior officer, took charge. “Major, get him out of here!”

          Higa paused, hesitant to abandon his comrades.

          “That’s an order Major! Our people need him! Get him to the boats!” The Colonel looked up and saw a green skinned woman leading a band of skirmishers from the East. The Colonel pointed his sword at them to draw Higa’s attention to the new threat.

          “You have but moments! Move! Now!”

          Higa grit his teeth before relenting. “Damn you sir!” He cursed at the Colonel. He hefted Naikairis over his shoulder. The general’s blade fell out of his limp hand as Higa carried his charge as fast as he could to the last remaining ship waiting to push off.

 

 

 

 

 

          The last Sea Kingdom soldier to fall was their leader, a tall, proud newt-man who wore thick armor plate edged with gold, clearly a high-ranking officer. Alone, he felled two Fire-Wolf knights before taking an arrow through the neck from Huntress Wizard. He died, silent, as he hit the ground. It was over.

          Finn had been working to save who he could, from both sides, to little effect. The Fire Kingdom troops were ordered to show no mercy, something he found abhorrent, but it didn't seem to matter as the Sea Kingdom troops sold themselves dearly. They were, if nothing else, utterly disciplined. 

          As for the Fire Kingdom troops caught in the enemy sorcerer's final blow, he managed to save 4 out of the 17 that were in the deluge. Still, it was 4 more than 0. 

          Finn continued focusing on his work. He didn't want to think about what happened on the eastern flank, and he thanked glob Ogun took them the long way around in their earlier pursuit. He didn't realize that until now. Maybe he wasn't callous as he let on. 

          Ogun came to with a groan. He was pleasantly warm, and he realized someone had built a fire around him. “Ugh… Finn?”

          “I’m right here, buddy. How do you feel?” 

          "Like I drowned, but better. Thank you, by the way."

           “You good to walk?” Finn asked.

          “Gimme a minute, but I think so. Let’s head to the wall. I want to see what happened.”

          “Same.”

 

Finn and Ogun were tired but were still able to descend down into the valley until the arrived at the wall.

          The scene was apocalyptic. Dead soldiers lay everywhere from both sides. The wall looked like it had been smashed by trolls and blasted by artillery.

          Ogun looked grimly at the battlefield. “Skirmish, my ass.”

“Skirmish, my ass.” Responded Finn, with a frown. They looked at each other, then quietly sat on a nearby boulder, content to observe the aftermath. 

A moment later, Finn saw Huntress walking up towards them, her expression blank as she sat quietly next to him. After a moment, she placed a hand on his knee. "I think I'm ready to go now."

Chapter 3

The following day, Finn, Huntress, and Ogun had returned to the Fire Kingdom Palace. They, and the others who returned from the wall, had received cheers and accolades from the citizenry of the fiery domain.

          The Kingdom was in tatters, and there was still much to be done to clean up the mess the Sea Kingdom made, but it could wait for a day. Phoebe declared a day of festivities and games to honor the victory.

          The conflict that day had come to be called the 1^st and 2^nd battles of the Iron Fields, even though the second was nowhere near the location in question. A skirmish action had escalated back into a full war as the enemy retreated South, likely due to the skill of the opposing commander who was nowhere to be found.

          After the many feasts and awards, Phoebe asked to speak to Finn and Huntress alone.

          “I can’t tell you how much your help means to me. Finn, you not only were essential in battle, but you stayed behind to save the lives of my people.”

Finn bowed humbly, “They would have done the same for me.”

          “Still, the men speak highly of you.” She turned to Huntress. “You as well. I was told you led the assault from the East?”

          Huntress raised an eyebrow. “I was in front, yes, if that constitutes leadership.”

Phoebe chuckled. “They thought it was. The men both love and are, uh, also terrified of you.”

Huntress Wizard smiled.

Phoebe called to her brother. “Flint!”

          Her brother entered with a several small boxes and a fireproof parchment container.

          Flint stood in front of Finn and Huntress with a warm smile. “It is my greatest pleasure to award you the Iron Wreath.” Finn’s jaw dropped. Huntress remained silent, having no idea what the award meant.

          Flint opened the box and placed the wreath on Finn’s head. He tried to do the same with Huntress Wizard, but just handed it to her after several awkward attempts to get it around her antlers.

          Phoebe wore a radiant smile as she watched them receive the awards.

“Forgive me, I assume this is a big deal, but… what is it?” Asked Huntress.

Flint answered. “The Iron Wreath can only by awarded by consensus of the lower ranking troops. Officers have no vote. The queen and I are forbidden from awarding it as well.”

          “That’s… actually really awesome. Thank you, your highness.” Huntress’s eyes grew wide as she understood the gravity of what she was holding.

          “Oh,” said Flint. “And of course, your payment, as agreed.” He handed Huntress the parchment container. “By order of the Queen, the Fire Kingdom has placed a 20-year moratorium on felling any trees in the Southeastern Forest, and will instead turn to the Southwestern Reaches as you requested.”

          Huntress bowed. “Thank you, your highness.”

          “Oh, and a little something from me, as well.” Said Phoebe.

          Flint removed 2 additional awards from their boxes and pinned them to each of their chests.

          “I award each of you the Seal of Fire, our highest military award.” Finn’s jaw dropped a second time. Huntress did not react.

          “Congratulations to you both!” said Flint.

          “Thank you both, this is a lot.” Finn paused. “What about Ogun? He was right there with us. He almost died.”

          “Oh, Don’t worry about that sellsword. He’ll get his due awards.”

          Finn nodded, then looked at Phoebe.

          Phoebe looked back at him, and smiled. “Now, I imagine both of you can’t wait to get back home!”

          Finn shrugged. “Actually, we could chill a bit lo-“ Huntress wizard firmly nudged her boyfriend. Finn looked at her, then Phoebe. “Yes, we should probably get going, got to shower and all of that.”

          “Come, I’ll walk you to the front gate.” Phoebe escorted her friends out of her chambers.

          As soon as they left, Flint walked into an adjacent room. “Ogun!”

          “Well, it’s about time, your highness.”

          Flint dropped two sizable sacks of coin in front of the warrior. Ogun smiled. It was clearly visible as he held his wolf-helm under his armpit.

          “The queen also awarded you the Seal of Fire.” Flint tossed an unopened box at the taller warrior, which he caught. “Not that you are care about such things.”

Ogun opened the box and inspected the award. “It does look cool.” He said. “Perhaps it would make an excellent coaster?” Flint frowned and squinted his eyes at the irreverent joke.

          “In any case, I have another contract to offer you. It is long duration, and pays well.”

          “Oh no. Respectfully, your highness, I almost got killed in the battle, then almost got killed again during the skirmish. Your contracts have dangerous riders on them.”

          “Yes, sorry about that. This one is different. Simple bodyguard job.”

          “Ok, I'm listening. Who for?”

          “One of the queen’s personal friends, she’s a war refugee heading to the Candy Kingdom to attend the University there.”

          “How long?”

          “Indefinite, but there’s more.” He handed Ogun a scroll of fire parchment. The warrior began reading.

          “Hmmm. Ok. Pay is good, thank you for that. Ok… easy enough… interesting… wait…you want me to live with and pretend to be the little brat’s dad? Are you kidding me?”

          “I am not kidding. Also, you wouldn’t be alone, there’ll also be a ‘mom’”

          Ogun froze. There were few women who met the demographic profile of the mission and had the required skillset.

          “It better not be who I think it is.”

          Flint smiled. “Seraphina.”

          Ogun dropped the scroll. “Nope. Nope! Absolutely not. I’d rather go alone. I’d rather gouge my eyes out. I’d rather saw off my own dick with an icicle.”

          “I can make it worth your while.”

          Ogun laughed and said, “what could you possibly offer me that would make it worth dealing with that horrible seething tranch?!”

          “We could grant you your lands and titles back.”

          Ogun froze.

          “Impossible. Not even you could do that. Not without sparking a civil war.”

          “Not before. Now? In case you haven’t noticed, there are a, uh, number of ‘vacancies’ due to losses in the battle. A lot of lands and titles have been remanded to the Queen due to lack of surviving heirs.” Flint moved his head closely to Ogun’s. “Why shouldn’t some of them go to you? Some of them are even the ones your family lost.”

          Ogun glared at the shorter man. He picked up the scroll he had dropped and glanced at it. Reading it again, he said. “It says indefinite, how long for real?”

“Hard to say. Maybe up to a year.”

Ogun’s jaw dropped. “A… year?” His voice almost like a sob. “A year with that… thing?” He hung his head in dismay.

Flint watched as Ogun began pacing back and forth as he began angrily muttering to himself. He then put his helmet on and said, “One moment, please.” He walked into another adjacent room and shut the door.

          Through the door, Flint heard the muffled sounds of yelling and smashing as Ogun began throwing chairs and flipping tables while bellowing in fury at an imaginary opponent. Flint smiled and crossed his arms. He had him.

          After a few minutes of fury against nearby furniture, Ogun opened the door, out of breath.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Excellent.” Said Flint. Now all we need is to get the queen into school.

 

 

          Phoebe returned to her brother after she had walked her friends out.

          “Did he bite?”

          “He did. You have your bodyguards.”

          “I still think this is insane.”

          “This entire situation is insane, sister.”

          Phoebe sighed as she pinched the ridge of her nose. “Ok. Let’s call Bubblegum. Grab CB and meet me in the secure communications room.”

          Flint bowed, then he turned to leave.

 

       Flint, Cinnamon Bun, and Phoebe were alone in the room. CB pressed a sequence of buttons, and Princess Bubblegum appeared on the screen.

          "Phoebe! Cinnamon Bun! Flint! My goodness, it’s good to hear from all of you, but… why over this channel?"

          Phoebe looked at CB, then her brother. “I have… an odd request. Also, I need you to be the only one to hear it. No one else.”

          Bubblegum’s face darkened as she grasped the serious tone of the conversation.

          “Ok, yes of course. I’m alone in here. What’s on your mind?”

 

          An hour later, Princess Bubblegum was scratching her chin in thought as she considered the proposal. “That is… certainly a plan. I can see why you’d come up with it though. Are you sure this is what you want?”

          “Yes. It’s the only way.”

          “Ok Phoebe. I guess you’re going to college. Send me the deets and I’ll relay them to the dean so you can be officially enrolled. It’s past the deadline, but hey, I’m the Princess.”

          Phoebe frowned. “Princ… Bonnibel, thank you. I won’t forget this.”

          “No thanks are necessary, Phoebe, just stay safe.”

 

 

          Phoebe sat in front of the mirror as the fire shaper did her work to make Phoebe a new woman. She couldn’t do much with Phoebe’s face, but she was able to conceal her jewel and change her hair color.

          Phoebe stared at the stranger in front of her. She now had jet black hair, which now hung towards the ground, a lower hairline to conceal her jewel, and a slightly different eye color.  

          Flint and Cinnamon Bun looked on approvingly. “Excellent, shaper. She will look perfect for the charity concert. Your services are no longer required for the time being.” The shaper bowed, then exited the salon.

          “What would you like your name to be?” asked Cinnamon Bun.

          “I think… I think I’d like it to be Phaera.”

          “Phaera Torchsmith it is then.” Said her brother.

          “Flint… How long do you think I have to stay like this?”

          “I don’t know sister. I need to rebuild the royal guard and find a way to keep Sea Kingdom spies and assassins at bay.”

          “Ok. I guess it’s time for the real Phoebe to say goodbye to the world for now.” Phoebe felt a strange sadness at the prospect. Cinnamon Bun picked up on it and squeezed her shoulder.

“You will always be my Queen,” said the pastry. Phoebe nodded and reached up to squeeze his hand in return.

The next day, Phoebe’s body double, a loyal member of her guard, took her place on the throne. She had officially disappeared.

          For Phoebe, the next few weeks revolved around preparing for college, memorizing her fake backstory, changing her habits and mannerism, and even her speech. Her brother’s schedule was grueling. She had a lot of catching up to do academic wise, especially in math, and she had to pass in order to maintain her cover. She had to be like any other college student. She had to like the same things, have the same friends, and have the same job prospects. She and her “parents” would be cut off from any support, financial or otherwise, from the Kingdom. It was the only way, as any connection between her and the Red Throne could be exploited. She and her “parents” would have to work for a living, like anyone else in the Candy Kingdom.

          The good news is that the Princess Bubblegum got them jobs. She was going to  be something called a “barista”. She didn’t know what that was, but it apparently involved making beverages out of a ground up bean. If it paid the bills and wasn’t demeaning, it would do.

Chapter 4

The sail home lasted 2 weeks, but felt like an eternity.

General Naikairis’s arm hung loose in a sling. He had recovered somewhat from his wound, but he was far from healed. Not only did he fail, he had the shame of returning alive after so many had died under his command. All Higa did was delay his execution. His brother would show little mercy.

          It was not a triumphal return. The people were not expecting them back for weeks, so they arrived relatively unannounced. Then news started to spread of their defeat, and the streets were filled with the wails of howling widows and families singing the memorial death chant.

          He was the last to set foot on land, as was tradition in the Sea Kingdom. He was greeted by the emperor’s praetorians. “Emperor Kaitan summons you at once.” The guards surrounded him in a square formation. This wasn’t a request. Naikairis stole a glance from Higa, and caught him staring back. The praetorians unceremoniously shoved him forward towards the palace.

         

          The guard threw him to the ground in front of his brother. He recovered into the traditional kneel. “Emperor, I answer your summons.”

          Emperor Kaitan was facing out the window to the sea, towards the ships that brought them home.

          “You failed, Mowen. I gave you command of the entire 2^nd Tidal Army, along with 8 full batteries of cannons from the Artillery School. You lost half of the Army, and returned with none of the artillery.”

He paused.

“The greatest insult, though, is that you had the audacity to return alive. To bring shame to this family. How could this be? I knew you to be a man of honor. Was I mistaken?”

“My lord… I-“

“SILENCE!”

The emperor’s anger echoed through the palace hallway. He heard nothing but the rustle of the guard’s cloaks and his own breathing when the stillness returned.

“If you were expecting the honor of an execution, your hopes were set too high. No, you don’t get off so easily… captain.”

Naikairis looked up as the guards next to him grabbed him violently and tore the General’s rank insignia from his uniform. When they finished, they threw lowly captain’s insignia at his feet.

The Emperor turned and faced his disgraced brother. “Get back in uniform, captain.”

Naikairis slowly picked up the captain’s insignia and began to affix it to his uniform. It was difficult with one arm.

          “I have a new assignment for you, captain. Bring me the head of the Ash Queen. Or die trying.”

          “By your will, sire.”

          “Select 20 of your best, most loyal men. That will be your team. Any supplies and armaments you need are at your disposal.”

          “I will see it done.”

          “Oh, and one more thing.”

          Naikairis looked up to face his brother.

          “Please give your daughter my heartfelt congratulations. I made sure she was accepted as an overseas exchange student at a university of my choosing. Don’t worry, I’ve assigned my very best and most loyal praetorians to watch over her. I’m sure you appreciate getting her away from all of the dangerous court intrigue here in the Imperial City.”

          “I… understand, sire.”

          “Good. Don’t fail me again. It would be shame if something were to happen to my niece while she was away.”

          “How long do I have, my lord?”

          “You have 1 year, starting now. That is how long it will take to rebuild our forces that you lost.”

          Naikaris nodded. “The queen will die, or I will.”

          “Any other outcome and your daughter’s life is forfeit. Dismissed.”

          Naikairis bowed, then saluted as decreed by imperial protocol. He then smartly about faced and left the throne room.

 

          Higa met him outside as he descended the palace stairs. “Sir! Sir, how did it… what hap-“

          “I am no longer a general… sir.”

Higa nodded, then said. “I don’t care.”

Naikairis smiled, grimly. “I have a new assignment. I will likely not return. Maj… Sir, it has been an honor serving with you.” Naikairis extended his hand to shake his old friend goodbye.

          Higa looked down at the hand. “To the Night-O-Sphere with that nonsense. I’m coming with you.”

          Naikairis lowered his hand shamefully. “It’s a suicide mission, Higa. Go home to your family. You’ve been away too long as it is.”

          “Not your call, captain. Now, do I have to order you to tell me what your assignment is? Or are you finished being a donk?”

          Naikairis laughed. “Ok, Alright. I was told to kill the tranch who killed all of our men. Interested?”

          “Most definitely, sir.”

          “Don’t call me sir, sir.”

          “Don’t tell me what to do, captain.”

          Naikairis frowned. “The emperor has allowed me to select a team of 20. I need 19 more. I was going to leave alone, but now I realize you would all track me down and skin me alive.”

          Higa slapped his old friend’s back. “You would be correct, sir.”

 

          Emperor Kaitan retired to his private chambers. Awaiting him was his spymaster, Olin.

          “So it worked, then?”

          “Indeed it did. The Queen is as powerful as I suspected, and my brother is now no longer a threat to my rule. Stroke of genius, by the way, sending him off on a quest for redemption.”

          “It’s what you pay me for, sire. Now, his most loyal and capable dogs will be focused entirely on restoring their leader’s glory. They will either take the queen off the table, in which case we deal with your brother in another way, or they all die trying. It’s a win-win.”

          “Indeed. We still need a back-up to deal with the queen. Recruitment and military sentiment will rise after this loss, but will fade. We have maybe two years to fully capitalize on it.”

          “I’m working some alternative angles on that front, my lord.”

          “See that you do. In the meantime, keep an eye on Naikairis. See that he leaves without starting any trouble.”

          “Of course, my liege.”

          Kaitan watched Olin leave as he began to mix a cocktail from his private bar. The plan had been wildly successful. His brother’s army, so loyal to him, was now not only in tatters, but was being used as a collective martyr to hang in front of the populace to build its replacement. One more loyal to the emperor proper. A larger, more capable force, and when the Ash Queen was dealt with, they would march virtually unopposed across the Fire Kingdom and eventually every corner of Ooo. No longer would his people be confined to these paltry islands. They would be a world class power, and none would stand against them.

 

 

 

          Finn and Huntress decided to walk back home instead of ride as they usually did. It was nice just being able to talk and spend time with one another, plus Huntress really wanted to recharge in the verdant, green forest after spending so much time in the rocky wastes of the Fire Kingdom constantly covered in a fire shield spell. The cool evening air rustled through the trees as fireflies danced through the tall grass of the nearby field they were walking through.

          “I’m glad it worked out with the whole Southeast woods thing.” Said Finn.

          “I am too. A 20-year recovery period will work wonders for diversity and tree density in the area. I am very excited to see it grow.”

          “So am I babe. I can’t wait for you to show me.”

          “I will say though, this wreath thing is really cool. Jake will probably lose his mind when he finds out he missed all the action.”

          “Uuhhh… yeah.” Huntress instantly noted Finn’s hesitant response. Huntress stopped walking and was now glaring at him.

          “You didn’t tell him, did you. You told me you did, but you didn’t actually tell him we were going to the Fire Kingdom to join their defense.”

          Finn stopped as he realized he was no longer being followed. He then sheepishly turned to face the very angry looking nymph. “I… no, I didn’t. I wanted to, but-“

          “Glob… dammit Finn! We talked about this! You can’t just not tell people things! This is how… this is… you know what I’m talking about!” She was yelling, and very, very upset.

          “Huntress, I’m sorry, ok, I didn’t mean-“ Finn paused as he watched his girlfriend stomp up to him. The taller woman was now close enough to look down at him. Finn felt very small all of a sudden.

          She spoke, her voice low and dangerous. “You are going to tell your brother. Now. Not in a couple days. Not tomorrow. Right glob damn now. Then, after, we’re going to have another talk about you keeping serious stuff secret.” Finn could only nod.

          Huntress than slapped him hard across the face. His ears rang from the force of the blow. She was really strong. “And that’s for lying to my face about it!” She screamed.  Finn saw tears in her eyes. Before he could respond, she had transformed into a hawk and had flown off.

Crap.

He really donked up bad.

 

 

          Jake sat drinking his coffee in silence. At least, he himself was silent. Drumming, roars, thuds, and growls, muffled only by the floor beneath him, rattled throughout the house. His dear grand-niece and son were downstairs jamming. Or so they said. The last time he heard anything like this was in the realm of Death.

          He looked across the table at Lady. She was also sipping coffee. Her hair was frazzled and her eyes were bloodshot. She was intently staring out the window at nothing.

          The two downstairs in the basement had been at it all night. They didn’t stop. At least, it didn’t seem like it. Maybe they took a nap. Maybe they didn’t. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. All he knew was that his Grand Niece got hurt, and she was working some stuff out in a healthy fashion.

          He loved them both dearly, but sometimes it was rough being a dad/grandpa.

           

He took another sip of his coffee. Now he knew why Kim Kil Whan kicked Bronwyn out of the garage and banned TV’s drum set from the premises.

 

          Bronwyn shredded her guitar until she couldn’t feel her fingers. She cooked this little song up 20 minutes ago and wrote the lyrics on a soiled napkin.

          She had been at it all night, and she thought she had enough for at least an EP.

          The first song was called “Eyes gouged out with soldering iron,” which was about her ex-boyfriend. The second was called “Eaten Alive by Razor-Toothed Maggots,” which was also about her ex-boyfriend. The third was called “Drowned in Gasoline and Set on Fire,” which was about the nasty little tranch he cheated on her with. The last one was called “Pussy Chainsaw Massacre,” which was about the so-called friends who laughed behind her back while it happened.

Finally, she had just finished her magnum opus for the night, and it was called, “I Want To Suck Start A Shotgun,” which kind of summed up her overall feelings of the whole ordeal. Her arms burned as she continued her riffs.

TV’s arms and legs were a blur as he slayed the drum rig in front of him. The small, multi-colored horned puffball was a mechanical metal machine as he destroyed the beats. Beads of sweat collected around his beady, glass rimmed eyes as his tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted to keep up with the intense tempo. The pace of Bronwyn’s riffs were unreal. It was hard work keeping up with her.

Bronwyn finished the starting riffs and began to sing the carefully crafted lyrics of their song. The rapid drums, both high and low, continued through her vocals.

“ROREERRAGHARRORRRAGGGRROOGGH!”

Oontahoontahoontahoohntaoohntah

PISHPISHPISHPISHPISH

“REERORGHOEERREOOEOFOFOEEER”

OontahoontahPISHPISHoontahoontahoontahPISHPISH

Tatatataatatatatatattataa”ROOOREEERAAAEEEGGHHHHHHH”adidididdiiddidididiiPISHPISHPISH

“RRROOOAAHGGHHAARRROOAAGHHAARROOORRR!”

 

She really liked that last line. She thought it communicated her truest, innermost feelings about her previous relationship. It adequately conveyed her point of view.

She was sweating, head to toe. She was exhausted, and had a massive hangover from both screaming all night and the not-quite-above-board hard ciders she had been pounding.   

She fist-bumped TV, who was slumped over his drum set. “TV, that was awesome! You are a drum GOD!” she yelled. It wasn’t really a yell though, her voice came out as a rasp, she had had lost it halfway through the night.

          Bronwyn really wished TV would come out of his shell. He was his uncle, but she was now older than he was due to the strangeness of aging in their family. She had taken him under her wing. He was pretty cool once you actually got to know him and he opened up a bit. He was just so shy it broke her heart. It was also ironic, as TV was also the single most brutal drummer in Ooo.

Outside of video games, drums were his passion, but he only played for two people: himself, and her. No exceptions. He knew his parents heard him, but he would never play for them directly. She swore she would get him to play in front of a crowd with her, so the world could see the little monster for who he really was: a mechanical machine terror, a walking musical massacre. He was insane. She had never heard anything like the little ball of fury.  

           Yesterday, when she came stumbling into her grandpa’s house, crying, mascara running down her face, eyes red, sniffling like a baby over her breakup, TV said nothing. While her grandpa and grandma hugged her and comforted her, TV simple waddled down into the basement, came back up with her guitar, and shoved it into her chest. He then whispered “no survivors,” which was exactly what she needed. TV knew what made her tick more than even her own parents. That was who TV was to her.

          Her grandpa then chucked a few cases of hard ciders down the stairs and yelled “have fun bear-bear! Hope you feel better!” and that was her night.

          Now, she just wanted to have some food and go to bed.

          “TV, I think we should call it.” TV feebly raised his hand and gave a thumbs up.

          “Sounds good, sis.” He said, his voice muffled from him face planting into his drums. Oh yeah, he called her his “sis” now. She didn’t mind; she was probably more of a sister to him than his actual siblings at this point. They rarely saw him.

          “You want breakfast?” She said, while walking to the basement bathroom to freshen up.

          “Yeah. Just gimme a sec.” he wheezed.

“Ok.” She rasped. She washed her face and saw herself in the mirror. She still had mascara streaking down her cheeks, and she did her best to clean up as best she could. Then she brushed her teeth to get rid the awful hangover morning-mouth smell. Once she was finished, she grabbed TV by the hand and dragged the moaning puffball up the stairs to get some proper food.

 

 

          Jake had just got off the phone with Huntress Wizard when Bronwyn and TV rose from the basement looking like zombies. He didn’t acknowledge them, as he was too busy staring at the phone in front of him.

          “We’re about to have company for breakfast.”

          “Who?” rasped Bronwyn as she took a seat at the table.

          “Finn.”

          “That’s great!” Then she noticed the look on her grandpa’s face. “Uhhh, everything ok? It’s usually a good thing Finn comes over.”

          “I honestly don’t know. Just got all call from Huntress Wizard, and she sounded pissed. Said Finn had something important to tell me and then hung up on me.”

 “What? Is something going on?” A look of concern grew on her face, then a brief panic. “Wait, is this, is it happen-“

“Nonono, honey, no, nothing like that. I’m sure of it.” Jake’s arm had stretched and was rubbing her back. After finding Finn in his trailer after his “attempt,” Bronwyn had been very attuned as to what was happening with her great uncle. He saw the relief spread across her face as she sunk her head in her arms on the table. He heard her sigh.

“Ok. good.” She perked up, and said, “What’s for breakfast? Also, where’s grandma?”

“Eggs and Waffles. Grandma went upstairs to nap. Coffee wasn’t doing it for her. She was kinda up all night as you can imagine.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about that. Thank you for letting us just jam out. It… really helped. It really did. Thank you.”

Jake smiled. “I know, which is why we both agreed to it.”

 

          Jake had gotten up and was just starting the waffles when they heard a knock at the front door. Bronwyn answered to leave her grandpa to his work.

          “Finn!”

          Finn was soaking wet and still wearing his battle gear, which was still covered in ash from the Fire Kingdom and caked with rust, blood, and dents. He had at least bathed since the battle, but he hadn’t had a chance to clean and repair his equipment yet. He wore a frown and was avoiding eye contact with her.

          “Finn? Oh my glob, are you ok?”

          “Yeah, I’m ok bear-bear. I need to talk to Jake. Actually, you can come too.”

          “Alright, OK.” She said, looking confused.

Jake had just finished pulling waffles from the waffle iron when he saw Finn enter the Kitchen. “Hey brother!” He pulled Finn into a hug. He said nothing about what he was wearing or how he looked. He figured he’d get to that eventually.

          “Hey Jake. Uhm. Can we talk?”

          “Yes, anytime, you know that. What’s going on?”

          “I really donked up. Bad. Like really bad.”

          Jake was no longer concerned with breakfast. Bronwyn had taken a seat nearby and was no paying very close attention to what her uncle was saying. TV grabbed waffles and began eating them in silence.

          “What’s up Finn? You’re kind of making me nervous here.”

          “You know about the Defense of the Fire Kingdom? The battle in the iron fields?”

          “Yeah, it’s been all over the news. What of it?”

          “I was there. I went, and I didn’t tell you.”

          Jake’s jaw dropped, then he pounded the kitchen table angrily. “What the balls man!”

          Finn hung his head. “I know!”

          “You run off to war and you didn’t even tell me? What were you thinking!?”

          “I… I thought that if I told you, you would feel you’d have to follow me, and something might’ve happened to you. I couldn’t let that happen.”

          “What happened if something happened to you? Did you ever think of that?!” Jake was angry. Bronwyn almost never saw her grandpa angry and it was making her a little scared.

          “I know! But you could’ve died Jake! I couldn’t live with that! I almost died myself!” Finn paused, then realized he donked up again.

          “What! Finn! Are you kidding me? How do you think I would live with myself if you died face down in the dirt on some distant battlefield? What if you were never found Finn? All of us would be wondering, waiting, in terror, for years, never knowing happened to you. My own baby brother!” Jake’s voice was shaking and he had tears in his eyes. “And now here you are keeping secrets. After what happened in the trailer.” Jake stole a glance at Bronwyn before wiping his eyes and continuing. “What exactly was your plan? Never tell me? Internalize it? Never speak of it again? This is how it starts, Finn! This is how you almost died! By trying to face this stuff alone!’ Jake was yelling now. Bronwyn had begun to silently sob.”

          Finn’s face was blank. “I’m not finished Jake. I also lied to Huntress Wizard about telling you.”

          Jake stared at him in disbelief. “Finn, you donking idiot. You stupid, stupid donking idiot.”

          Finn felt like he was going to die inside. “I know, Jake. Now I realize how dumb it was. All of it.”

          Jake’s expression softened when he saw the look in Finn’s eyes. “We can talk about this later, bud. Go see HW. She needs you.”

          As Finn turned to leave, Jake stopped him and said, “And we will talk about this later. This isn’t over.” Finn nodded, and headed out the door.

          As Jake watched his brother leave, he noticed that Bronwyn was no longer at the table. TV quietly, and awkwardly, continued eating his waffles. 

 

 

          Huntress Wizard entered her home in the forest. She shut the vines behind her and entered her bedroom. Images of Finn in the hospital, recovering from his...ordeal... flooded her mind. It had been a while since she had been plagued by the intrusive, traumatic memories, but she knew she was in for a bad night. 

She sighed. She and Finn were going to have a long talk when he got back. First, for him lying to her. Second, for not telling his brother about going to the Fire Kingdom. Third, that she herself was a hypocrite, and had been keeping her own wounds secret for a while now. It all needed to stop.  

Chapter 5

Praetorians had been following Naikairis since he had left the palace. They were very conspicuous in their positioning; they were to ensure he did not feel too welcome.

He didn’t have much time. Higa was charged with securing resources for the journey. They needed a ship, provisions, and appropriate civilian attire and armaments. They would not wear or use anything that would identify as soldiers of the Sea Kingdom Army, as secrecy would be their primary defense against hostile states. Against non-state actors, like pirates and bandits, they would have arms and armaments befitting those of merchants/corsairs. Gone was the high quality plate armor and weapons made of the highest grade steel; they were stuck with rusty scale mail, spears, dented bronze swords, and some crossbows and blunderbusses.

          Colonel Artus, formerly his deputy operations chief, was recruited to assemble the team. Naikairus requested at least 2 tide-casters, 2 who could act as interpreters, an engineer, and the rest would be his most elite scouts. He specifically asked for those who could operate indefinitely without supervision or support, as well as those who had the diplomacy and tact to blend with a crowd. Artus had chuckled when he heard the requirements. “Is that all? Are you sure you haven’t forgotten something?”

          “Now that you mention it,” replied Naikairis, smiling but serious, “we could use a good cook.” Artus saluted him, then turned to find his team.

          Naikairus then attended to his final business. He stood before his estate. He missed his daughter, but a part of him didn’t want to see her. He had been avoiding his son’s death as much as he could. Now he had to confront it by telling his daughter that her brother was dead.

          The Pretorian guarding the entrance allowed him to pass, but gave him form instructions to not reveal the nature of the mission. He had no intention of it either way. There was no point in making his daughter worry about something she couldn’t control.

          “Father!” Naioma came running from the door of the main house. She threw herself into his embrace. “What is going on? Where is Seelo? Why are Praetorians keeping me imprisoned here?”

          “Your brother is not coming home. He did not survive the campaign.”

          The young woman pushed away from her father. “H-how? What happened?”

          “He was… killed by the Ash Queen herself.”

          Naioma lowered her head, then crossed her arms on her chest as she tried to contain her emotions. She was only partially successful, betrayed by the tears filling her eyes. Then she noticed her father’s uniform.

          “Daddy… what happened?”

          “I failed, dear.” He wore a sad smile. “The emperor has stripped my of my rank, and has banished me until I have avenged your brother.”

          “You’re… you’re not staying?”

          “No. I dearly wish I could, but no. I have to do this. I want to do this. I need to do this.”

          Naioma nodded. There was no point in arguing. Even if the Praetorians weren’t making it clear that this wasn’t a request, her father had always been a man of duty, placing the needs of his people over her own. She loved and hated him for that. “When will you return?” She asked.

          “I don’t know.” Then he remembered the Emperor’s warning. “Naioma, do you know about your schooling arrangements?”

          Puzzled, she answered, “I… nothing’s changed, I’m still set to attend the Monastery in a month. What, is something going on?”

          “The emperor is having you sent overseas to another school.”

          “What!? Where?”

          “He didn’t tell me.”

          Naioma was no fool. She knew exactly what was going on. His brother was a real bastard. “Are you serious? He would do that?”

          “I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.” Then he grabbed her firmly into an embrace. “I love you Naioma. More than life itself. Stay safe,” he leaned in very closely so that he could whisper into her ear. “Do not trust the guard he assigns you.” Planting a kiss on his daughter’s cheek, he left abruptly, and Naioma saw the Praetorian behind him glaring at her before turning to follow her father.

 

          Bronwyn caught up to Finn as he was leaving. He was walking fast, with a resolute and determined look on his face. The same look as if he were on his way to slay a dragon in its own lair. Considering what she knew about Huntress Wizard, it was probably appropriate.

          “Finn! Wait!” she called out, jogging to his side. He didn’t slow down, but he acknowledged her.

          “Hey Bron. I’m sorry about what happened in there.”

          “I’m fine, what’s going on with you? Are you ok?”

          “Honestly? Not really. I just came back from a war, and I saw things that I really don’t want to get into right now. After that, I got into a fight with my girlfriend where she slapped me so hard my hard my ears are still ringing, and I just got chewed out by the other most important person in my life. Wait, what’s wrong with your voice?” Finn had suddenly looked at her when he finally recognized that she was rasping.

          Bronwyn averted her eyes and stared stared at the ground as they walked. “I kinda jammed out all night with TV.” Finn raised one of his eyebrows.

          “All night?”

          “All night.”

          “Jake and Lady let you do that all night?!”

          “Yeah… I caught Derek cheating on me yesterday.”

          Finn stopped and faced her. “He what?!”

          “Yeah. With Stacy. Of all people.”

          “What?! Stacy?! Are you serious?!”

          “As a heart attack.”

          Finn looked like he was about to murder someone. “I’m going to kill that little fox creep.”

          “It’s fine, Finn. The more I think about it, the more I think they really deserve each other.” Bronwyn couldn’t hide the pain in her voice. “Plus, I’m pretty sure I killed them both in song last night. TV and I cooked.”

          Finn smiled, then turned to continue his journey, but he wasn’t walking as fast as he was before. “I’d love to hear that.”

          “Your brother certainly didn’t.” She said, smiling.

          “Oh, I imagine he didn’t. What was on the menu?” Finn said, savoring the distraction.

          “Sure, but do you want some breakfast first? You must be starving.”

          “I mean sure, but I don’t have anything other than a granola bar.”

          “I got it covered. Over there work?” Bronwyn pointed to a nearby tree that provided a bit of cover from morning wind. “Sure,” said Finn, eager to sit down after a night of traveling and arguing.

Bronwyn took out her phone and began texting. A moment later, TV appeared in a flash of color with 2 plates of waffles. “Hey guys.” He said, right before disappearing again in a multicolored display. As they ate, Bronwyn told him all about the songs and their colorful titles and lyrics.

Finn listened while chewing his breakfast. As Bronwyn continued to talk, his eyebrows were raising higher and higher in surprise. “Glob, Bron, you weren’t kidding about killing them with song.”

Bronwyn smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I may have gotten carried away a bit.”

Finn fist bumped her and smiled. “Way awesome though.”

Finn remained quiet as he finished the last few bites of his food. Bronwyn caught him staring out over the horizon as his face darkened.

“If HW did a song right now, it’d probably be something like, “I stabbed my boyfriend in the heart with my antlers.” He looked down. “Actually, she’d be more direct. She’d probably call it ‘Dead’, and the only lyrics would be ‘Finn is dead. I killed him because he was a donk.’” Finn said, without a trace of sarcasm or humor.

“She’s really mad, huh?” Said Bronwyn.

“It’s not that she’s mad,” Finn sighed before he continued. “After I got out of the hospital, Huntress had a really rough time. I told you how intense and focused she could be, and she wasn’t doing well dealing with what happened, and she really, really freaked out when it was time she had to go back to the forest. We had to have some really long talks, and I made some very solemn and serious promises before she felt she could leave.

“Ok, that makes sense, but it’s not like you lied to her about something crazy. You just didn’t tell her you kept a secret from Jake. I feel like Jake’s the one who should be more freaked out.”

“You don’t understand, Bron. She spends a lot of time away from me, and she needs to know I am ok back here. Above all, she needs to know, with complete and utter certainty, that I am being taken care of by my friends and family back here. That I am being open with them about how I am doing and how my life is going. I made a very serious promise to HW that’s what I would do. I promised her I wouldn’t keep serious stuff secret or try to hide stuff from the people close to me back here. She had tears in her eyes when she made me promise that.”

Bronwyn finally understood. “Oh glob, Finn. And now not only did you not do that, you lied to her about it.”

“Yeah. That about sums it up. I am the donk of the glob damn year. And you know what the worst part is?” Bronwyn shook her head.

“I did it carelessly. I wasn’t even thinking when I made the decision to keep that stuff from Jake. I wasn’t thinking when I hurt the 2 people closest to me in this world.”

“We all make mistakes Finn.”

“Spilling milk is a mistake. This… was a betrayal. I realized it after your grandpa set me straight back there.” Finn shook his head, exasperated. “It didn’t even occur to me what damage I had done until he laid it out so even an idiot like me could see it.”

Bronwyn came beside her uncle and gave him a hug. “It will be ok. Just go talk to her.”

          Finn nodded. “Yeah. I hope she can forgive me.” He stood up and handed his empty plate to Bronwyn. “Sorry, I have to go. Thank you for breakfast.”

          Bronwyn smiled and said “Don’t be sorry, go do your thing.”

          With that, Finn resumed his journey to Huntress Wizard’s home.

 

          Naikairis boarded the triangle-sailed cutter that would serve as their transportation back to the mainland. They had no need for crew, as everyone in the Sea Kingdom Army was a trained mariner.

          His praetorian handlers left him at the gangway. As he stepped on deck, his team snapped to attention.

          “At ease.” He said, as his team resumed preparing the ship to get under way.

          “Higa! Cast off as soon as we are ready.”

          “Cast off, Aye Sir!” Higa responded, and immediately began giving further orders to execute the command.

          Yelling over the din and bustle of the troops casting lines, adjusting rigging, and securing cargo, Naikairis said, “I won’t bore you with the details until we get out of port, but our mission is kill the bitch who slaughtered 17 battalions on the iron fields! Anyone have an issue with that?”

“Teekalloh!” The crew sounded in unison.

“I didn’t think so!”

 

Later, when the ship was rigged and set on course, Naikairis gathered everyone in the galley. He rolled out a map and began his briefing.

          “As you know, out task is simple: Kill the Ash Queen. The execution, as you have all likely surmised, is not. This is no ordinary hit job. I suspect that she is already in hiding due to her unique abilities. The enemy knows she is their only protection against the might of the Sea Kingdom.”

He paused, pointing at a location on the map. “We will sail east of the Fire Peninsula to the North East of the Fire Kingdom, and make landfall at the forest there. Once we set up camp, we will split up into teams. Colonel Artus, I need you to confirm that the Ash Queen no longer sits on the throne. Higa, your team will head to the Candy Kingdom to the North. There are a lot of refugee camps there that provide an ample opportunity to hide the Queen. I will head to the Mountain Kingdom and work my way South. Any questions?”

          “How do we kill her?” Asked one of the scouts.

          “From what I understand, she is vulnerable to things that would kill any other torchman. Ice, water, etc. The only difference is that it’s a really bad idea to get on her ugly side.”

          “Understood sir.”

          “Also-” Naikairis made eye contact with each of his men as he spoke, “-we are no longer soldiers in the Sea Kingdom Army. We do not exist. That means no protocol. No more ‘yes sir’ this or ‘no sir’ that. As far as the world is concerned, we are nameless merchants, corsairs, or bandits, or whatever other convenient label is useful to us at the time.”

          “Yes si… yes, of course.” The scout had interrupted himself.

          “Alright boys, get some rest, it’s going to be a long and treacherous sail.”

 

 

 

          Finn arrived at Huntress Wizard’s house later in the morning. He was utterly exhausted but had been mentally preparing for the coming conversation. When he entered, he was greeted with a log on the floor near the bedroom.

          Finn realized that she too must have been exhausted as he was when she got back. She had flown, but that would still leave her with very little sleep.

          She usually didn’t sleep as a log anymore though. She only did it when she was out in the woods, during winter, or as is likely the case this time, when she was pissed and didn’t want to be disturbed.

          Finn sighed as he began kicking off of his boots and pants. Whatever they had to talk about, it could wait until they both had some sleep. Which was probably wise, the more Finn thought about it. Rushing to get into bed, he took only a short shower and threw on a pair of boxers. Finally, he wrapped the log in a towel and tucked it into bed with him. This was something he occasionally did during winter, and while HW said it was unnecessary as she couldn’t feel anything anyways, Finn told her that he just liked being close to her, even as a log, so she never gave him grief about it. He hoped she wouldn’t hate that he did it this time. Snuggling against the log, he quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 

          Huntress returned home a few hours later to find Finn wrapped around and drooling on the firewood she had acquired earlier that morning to cook the rabbits she had just caught. He had wrapped a towel around it and was snuggling against it like it was a body pillow. She was deeply confused at first, until she realized that he probably thought the log was her.

          She held a hand over her mouth as she stifled a laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Huntress was still upset with him but having had a chance to clear her head with a nap and a hunt, she was in a much better place mentally. She covered her face, trying her best to stifle her laugh, with only few squeaks coming out of her mouth.

          It felt good to laugh. It seemed like forever since she sat back and just laughed about something. 

          Fortunately, Finn was a heavy sleeper. Finally calm, she quietly showered and cleaned herself up before stripping down to her underwear.  Before sitting on the edge of the bed, she snapped a pic on her phone. This was too cute not to save.

          “Psst. Finn,” she said, whispering to him so as not to surprise him too harshly. She gently shook him.

          Moaning, his eyes cracked open as he yawned. Barely awake, he smiled as he saw her, before frowning and looking at the log he was wrapped around. “Hey you,” whispered Huntress, “That’s the firewood.” She gently pried the log from his grip as he continued to become more aware as he woke. “Wait, what?” He said, looking confusedly between the log and her.

“You... you were spooning with the firewood.” She said, chuckling as she laid the offending log onto the floor.

Mortified, Finn buried his head face first in the pillow and groaned. “I’m just donking everything up today.” He said, his voice muffled by the pillow. In response, the wizard climbed into the sheets and wrapped herself around him. “You are,” she said, “but not that. That was just cute.” She said, whispering into his ear. They both fell asleep quickly in each other’s arms.

 

Finn awoke with Huntress’s lips on his own. She was completely naked, having stripped herself, and he was already very hard. He helped her pull his boxers off and soon she was riding him.

Normally, their lovemaking was a fast and physical affair, seeing as they were both very fit, active, and naturally aggressive. This time, though, Huntress rode him in silent desperation, her face a mix of lust, intense possessiveness, and even a deep melancholy at times. Finn realized that she had been crying, but said nothing as she continued to grind him hard into the bed. She rocked back and forth with her hips until he could stand it no longer, and he moaned as he finished inside her. She whimpered as she reached her own crescendo, her body trembling as she rode the waves radiating out from her sex.

After, she looked down at him, silently stroking his chest and face. “Melia, I-“ Finn was interrupted by a finger placed over his mouth. “Do not speak.” Huntress said, her voice quiet but deadly serious. Finn gulped. He was about to get it.

“You told Jake?” she said, her green slitted eyes boring into him.

“Y-yes.” He said, nervously. "I swear it."

“Good.”

She hung her head, and Finn felt a tear fall on his belly. “Finn.” She began shaking and he realized she was crying. He heard her sniffle before she spoke. “Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever lie to me. Not about this. Never about this.”

Finn sat up. Cupping her face, he said, “Melia. I feel like my promises are empty at this point, but I never want you to feel this way again. Seeing you like this fills me with a pain I can’t even describe. I never want to see you like this again. Trust in that.” She replied by leaning forward, down into his embrace.

They held each other until they drifted back into sleep. 

 

 

Chapter 6

Phoebe’s meeting with her adoptive “parents” went as well as one would expect, if one expected them to absolutely despise each other.

          Hate wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how these two acted towards each other. It was some of the most petty, childish bickering she had ever seen in her entire life. Everything was a glob damn ordeal.

          Phoebe had been sitting in her fire wolf-drawn carriage, waiting to be transported to the Candy Kingdom with the other student-refugees, when a stranger poked his head in the carriage passenger compartment.  

          “Hello Phaera, I'm Ogun" the tall, wiry figure said. "But you can call me, ‘dad’”

           He looked every bit like a killer: sleek, sharp, and vicious looking. He had a bag of equipment that he slung on the back of the carriage, which clanged heavily as it hit the floor.

          As they spoke, he began readying the carriage for travel. 

          “Yes, it’s me, Phaera,” Pheobe said awkwardly, trying and failing to fake a sweet, innocent smile. She was trying on the name as much as she could. It still felt weird to say out loud. 

          “Well, ‘Phaera,’ and I’m pretty sure that’s not your name, it is nice to meet you.”

           Phoebe tried her best not to react. Crap.

          “What makes you think that isn’t my name?” She said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

          “Well, for one, that’s the fakest smile I’ve ever seen.” Phoebe winced at the accusation. “Second, the nature of this contract. My good ‘ole buddy Flint told me about you. ‘Queen’s friend’ my ass. You’re someone more important than that.’”

          “Maybe the queen cares about her friends. Did that occur to you?” She said, annoyed.

           Ogun chuckled, “Maybe she does, girl, but Flint doesn’t. I’ve known him a long time, not exactly the sentimental sort.”

          “Alright," Phoebe said, trying to sound unconcerned. "say that my name wasn’t Phaera. Who do you think I am?” 

          “Honestly? Don’t know, don’t care. My job is making sure you stay alive. I don’t need to know who you are to do that.”

           His lack of concern puzzled her. “Wouldn’t knowing who my potential enemies are be something useful to know?”

          Shrugging, he replied, “Not really. If you’re an important royal, everyone is a potential enemy. If you’re not an important royal, you are still valuable enough for Flint to assign protection. In either case, your enemies are likely varied, powerful, and relentless.” He said, briefly looking back at her as he checked the reins on the fire-wolves. “And if you don’t actually have enemies, then this is easy money!” He pretended to be happy and excited as he did a little dance.

          Phoebe saw Ogun freeze while looking behind her. “Oh great, here we go.” She heard him say, bitterness in his voice. She turned to see what drew his ire, and she was greeted by a short, curvy, attractive flame woman approaching the carriage with a very sour look on her face.

          “So glad to see you Seraphina, I can’t wait to work with you again.” Ogun said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

          The fiery woman marched straight towards the warrior, her head only coming to his chest as she approached. “Well, if it isn’t the dick.” She said, Ogun flinching at the insult as Serphina pushed him aside to get to Phoebe.

 “Hello Phaera, I’m Seraphina, taking the role as your mother. Has this dick treated you well? He hasn’t tried to bang you yet, has he?” Seraphina’s voice was smooth and low, but somehow still held a vicious, angry edge to it.

Phoebe blushed, and sputtered out, “Uh, no, can’t say that he has.”

“Actually,” Seraphina said, grinning, “I apologize, you’re way out of his league.”

“Oh please, unlike you, I don’t try to ride every single piece of ass within 100 miles!” Ogun said, his voice escalating into a shout as he spoke.

Seraphina ignored him. “Are you ready to travel, Phaera?”

“Yes, I am.” Phoebe said awkwardly, feeling very uncomfortable from the older woman’s intense gaze.

“Great! Let’s leave then.” Seraphina had no smile on her face, and her voice was flat. “Ogun, will you hurry up! Waiting on you!” she said, yelling at Ogun.  

“What?! We were waiting on you!”

“Well, now we’re all waiting on you, dick!”

Ogun angrily muttered to himself as he sat at the front of the carriage. He shook the reigns to bring the fire wolves to a trot.

Phoebe looked back and forth between the two mercenaries. Ogun was focusing on driving the carriage, but she could faintly hear him mutter to himself every now and then.

Seraphina glared at Ogun. “I can hear you up there you know,” she said.

“Hear me doing what, huh? What can you hear me doing?” Ogun looked back at her. “Grinding my teeth because of your proximity to me?”

“No, muttering at me like a bitch while not watching the road. Look forward, dick!”

Ogun laughed as he returned to facing the front of the carriage. “Always a tranch, all the time, forever.”

“And you’re always a dick.”

          Phoebe leaned against the side of carriage. She weighed sacrificing her personal safety over listening to these two. All she had to do was get out of the carriage, and fly, far, far away.

          She knew she couldn’t. It would either blow her cover across the entire landscape or put a giant red marker on the Candy Kingdom that said “I am here, please kill me.” Still, she could fantasize.

         

          Hours later, the two crotchety mercenaries were still making digs at eachother, although it had become less frequent and direct. In addition to direct insults, they added passive-aggressive commentary and otherwise just being an ass at every available opportunity to the mix.

“Oh, did you see that horse dear? Why it looks just like you!”

“Read any good books lately? Oh, sorry, that was a silly question for you.”

“Yes, I think women do pursue you, out of a sense of morbid curiosity”

“Tight? Please. I bet it’s like throwing a hot-dog up a hallway down there”

“Will both of you please for the love of Grob Gob Glob Grod shut UP!” Phoebe said, shouting at the top of her lungs, her eyes closed angrily.

The mercenaries, stunned at the sudden escalation from their seemingly peaceful charge, remained silent long enough for Phoebe to admonish them.

“You’re not being paid to talk to each other. You’re not being paid to like each other. You don’t even have to look at each other. What you do have to do, is actually act like my parents, and make it convincing. Right now, you aren’t acting like a married couple, but a couple of bickering children!”

          Phoebe could see Ogun cock his head to the side as if noticing something. “Well,” he said, completely unbothered by her outburst, “That’s actually how a lot of married couples are.”

          “For once in his life, he’s not wrong Phaera.” Said Seraphina, as she absent-mindedly picked at her fingernails. “Married couples are often quite miserable in my experience.”

          “Indeed, they are. Miserable cunts, the lot of them.”

          “Well, then I guess you’re both perfect for the role.” Replied Phoebe, sarcastically.

          Ogun and Seraphina exchanged looks and laughed.  

          Oh Glob. Phoebe thought. What have I got myself into.

 

         

 

 

          Bronwyn had just gotten her belongings into her new dorm when Cinnamon Bun arrived at her door. She was expecting him, as she volunteered to help the new students and their families from the Fire Kingdom settle in.

          “Oh, are they here yet?” She said, as she was opening her various suitcases and boxes.

          “They will be arriving shortly; I have the pendants and leaflets we discussed.” Said the pastry, as he handed her a box. Bronwyn set them aside “Perfect! I’ll be right down, just going to get into my colors.”

 

          While Candy Kingdom University(CKU) didn’t have a uniform or dress code, it was strongly encouraged that students, teachers, and volunteers wore the school colors at every opportunity. The colors being, of course, several different shades of pink. Bronwyn wasn’t a huge fan of pink; she thought it made her look ridiculous, but she did respect the school enough to wear it, especially as a volunteer.

          Her job today was simple: greet the students as they arrive, distribute the containment pendants that Princess Bubblegum designed, and hand out the introductory leaflets and school shirts.

          She was told that some would have parents with them. While not part of the student-refugee program, some couples were granted work visas for the school year on a case-by-case basis, but had to fend for themselves, along with the students.

          She flipped through the list of exchange students. Most, about 30, were from the Fire-Kingdom, with all but 2 categorized under the student-refugee program. They also had a few regular exchange students from the Wildberry and Boneyard Kingdoms. She noticed a last-minute addition from the Sea Kingdom, who wasn’t scheduled to arrive until tomorrow. It was going to be an interesting year. Then she found the name of the student she was sponsoring.

          The CKY Student Refugee Program was based on youth-to-youth sponsorship. Local students were to mentor, hang out with, and dorm with the newly displaced members of their class. Her father, Kim Kil Whan, benefitted from it when we attended University outside the Candy Kingdom himself. He said it made a world of difference to him to have a good sponsor, so he strongly encouraged her to do it herself.

          Her father could be exceptionally demanding and overbearing at times, but of all the extra-curriculars and other stuff he wanted her to do, this was one she was actually thrilled about. She liked to help people, and if she could make life easier for another student in a new land, as well as make a new friend, she as all for it. Her father was proud when she was selected to be part of the program as a freshman, which was rare.

          As she greeted the incoming students throughout the day, she saw that most from the Fire Kingdom fell into 2 categories: The very well off and the utterly destitute. The well off probably bribed Fire Kingdom diplomats, she thought, while the destitute likely lost everything in the recent war. Nevertheless, she handed out shirts and leaflets to the students, and pendants to those from the Fire Kingdom.

          She still hadn’t seen the one she was sponsoring. They were being accompanied by their parents, and as she continued to check names off of the list, she began to worry that they would never show up. She couldn’t have missed them, as not only were they a group, likely to travel in a carriage, but also fire people who were hard to miss. As it got later in the day, she wondered if this would be a rare no-show.

          No-shows weren’t common but sometimes happened in exchange programs. Sometimes, it would be a case of the student simply having to drop out for whatever reason. For refugee students, the possibilities were grimmer.

          It had been a few hours since the last student had come, and she was playing her mobile game console to pass the time. She was super invested in it, wearing headphones, and completely focused on wiping out the numerous demons on the screen when a flame person came through the door.

          Setting the game aside, she began to recite her prepared lines as she shuffled papers to and grabbed a pendant and shirt. “Welcome to Candy Kingdom University! My name is Bron..wyn…” She hadn’t looked up until she introduced herself. The girl in front of her was, well, Bronwyn didn’t know what. There was something about her that just made her brain shut down.

          She looked fierce. She had a robust build that was still undeniably feminine, like with mama lions or bears. Her face was wide, with kind eyes, but her gaze was still astonishingly intense, all the more made so by the jet-black hair framing her face. She was just made in a way that made her look like feminine strength incarnate, and it was so brilliantly luminous that Bronwyn, who was usually so collected and cool, looked and felt like an absolute donk.

          “H-hello, my name is… Bronwyn. What’s yours?”

          “I’m Phoe… Phaera. My name Is Phaera. Phaera Torchsmith.”

          Bronwyn’s mouth went dry as she realized that the blazing radiant sun in front of her would be the one she was sponsoring. Oh dear, she thought.

          “Phaera,” Bronwyn smiled nervously, “That’s a sweet name! Would you, uh, like a shirt?” Nice job, Bronwyn, you donk. She thought. “Sweet name! Have a shirt!” What are you, a sports mascot?

          “Uhh sure.” Said the fiery woman. Bronwyn took one of the pink shirts, and about died when Phaera excitedly grabbed it out of her hands and yelled, “Oh my glob I love it!” The shirt then promptly burnt to a crisp, leaving Phoebe with a pile of ash and a frown.

          “Oh glob! Sorry! I’m so sorry! Here’s a fireproof one!” Bronwyn frantically grabbed another shirt and pushed it into the other’s chest.

          “Oof!” Phoebe yelped, being a little surprised by the speed and force with which Bronwyn replaced the lost shirt. She slowly closed her arms around it and smiled. “Thank you! I like it a lot.”

          Bronwyn returned her smile, but had trouble maintaining eye contact; she felt really nervous for some reason. “Oh, have your parents met with Cinnamon Bun yet? He’s the one helping with visas for Fire Kingdom folks.”

          “Yes, they’re with him now.”

          “Awesome! That’s really, super awesome.” Said Bronwyn nodding and smiling. Yeah, it’s super awesome. What is going on with you! Get a grip lady!

          “Oh!” Bronwyn grabbed a pendant, and handed it to Phoebe. “This is a fire containment pendant. Princess Bubblegum designed it herself!”

          Phoebe held it up close to her face so she could inspect it. “It’s very pretty, what does it do?”

          “Put it on and I’ll show you! It’s really cool!”

Phoebe lifted her hair and fastened the pendant around her neck. Nothing happened, until Bronwyn suddenly leaned forward and gently grabbed Phoebe’s hand. Instead of Bronwyn getting burned, the pendant began to glow with a soft light. Phoebe looked in awe at Bronwyn’s hand on hers, it was the first time she had every touched a non-flame person without a physical or magical barrier. “Wow,” said the stunned elemental, her eyes wide open in astonishment as they switched back and forth from looking at her hand and the face of the one holding it.

“Pretty cool huh?” Said Bronwyn, a faint smile on her face as she stared down at the joined hands. “It contains and redirects your energy output into the pendant. That way, you can interact with the people and places here without setting them on fire.” Her voice was soft as she spoke to her.

They sat there holding each other’s hands in wonder, until Bronwyn cleared her throat and said, “Uh, can I have my hand back?”

          “Sorry!” exclaimed Phoebe, shaking herself out of her trance. “Sorry! Sorry! So Sorry! I know that was weird, it’s just… I’ve never been able to actually hold anyone’s hand that wasn’t a fire elemental. There’s always been a barrier, either physical or magical. You are the first non-flame person I’ve ever touched.”

          Bronwyn all of a sudden felt very light headed. “That’s, pretty cool.” You already said that, you donk.  “Come on, I’ll show you our dorm.”

 

          Phoebe was having some feelings. Feelings she didn’t really understand. All she knew was that they were intense, and this girl was the cause. Or was she? She didn’t know. All she did actually know was that she nearly blew her cover within 5 seconds of meeting her, and she was acting like dumb idiot the entire time. The hardcore looking bear-girl probably thought she was mentally deficient or something. Nice job burning the shirt Phoebe She thought, what a wonderful first impression you must have made. Also, you acted like a creep with her hand, you twit.

          If that wasn’t bad enough, Bronwyn was her sponsor. She would be spending time with her. A lot of time, and it would be with someone who made her forget why she was here: to stay alive. She needed to stay focused. While she was going to live with someone that made that nearly impossible.

 

It was going to be a long year.

Chapter 7

To their astonishment, Ogun and Seraphina had refrained from murdering each other during the long trip to the Candy Kingdom.

          Their reward was the pastry sitting in front of them. Cinnamon Bun was going through the motions of getting their visas approved, setting up their housing, and everything else that he did with all of the other parents coming from the Fire Kingdom. When he was finished, he pulled them aside to a closed room. He had some additional items just for them.

          “The Princess has gotten you both paid jobs on campus. This way, you can continue to make enough income to sustain yourselves while still keeping an inconspicuous eye on your charge, as stated in your contracts.”

          “Sounds great, what are we doing? I don’t think either of us would cut it as professors.” Said Ogun.

          “Speak for yourself” rumbled Seraphina.

          Cinnamon Bun ignored them as he continued. “Ogun, you’ve been given a role as one of the campus security guards.” Ogun rolled his eyes. “So, a rent-a-cop, awesome.”

          Cinnamon Bun turned to the shorter fire-woman. “Seraphina, you’ve been assigned to the Banana Guards Auxiliary, your patrols will coincide with the movements of your subject.” Seraphina nodded as Ogun groaned. “Really,” said the taller warrior, “How come she gets to be a real cop?”

          Seraphina laughed, “can it, Ogun, you have it better. This is the Banana Guards we’re talking about.” Ogun turned to face the woman; a bit surprised she didn’t take the opportunity to rub it in. “I suppose you’re right” he said.

          “That’s all for now. Everything else should have been set up. Surveillance is in and around her dorm as requested, and you can contact the Princess, Myself, or Flint directly if you need anything. Good luck!” Finished with his duties, Cinnamon Bun promptly left and began preparing for his journey back the Fire Kingdom.

          “Well, dearest wife, let’s go see home-sweet-home, shall we?”

          Seraphina groaned as she followed her “husband” to their new dwelling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

          “Come with me on my next ranging.” Huntress Wizard said. Her and Finn had been gutting and skinning their most recent kill when she popped the question.

          “Yes, of course, I’d love to.” Finn excitedly replied. He rarely got to accompany her on excursions, and leapt at the chance when he could.

          She smiled, and leaned over the peck him on the cheek. “We’ll head to the Southeastern Forests. I want to verify that the Fire Kingdom ceases their logging operation and I can show you what I hope the pause will achieve.”

          “I look forward to it!” Said Finn.

          “Oh, and we’ll need to make a quick detour to our hot springs. There’s… something I want to show you.” She sounded almost sad, and even a bit nervous. “Everything ok, babe?” Finn asked, concerned.

          “Yes, it’s just… I’ve been a bit of a hypocrite. There’ve been things I’ve been bottling up in myself, not only with you, but my life in general. The last couple of weeks made me realize that I’ve been doing the very thing I made you promise never to do; which was to isolate yourself from the ones who care about you. I am very much guilty of that."

          “Babe, is there… something you need to tell me?” Finn was getting increasingly worried, and his voice reflected it.

          Huntress paused. She had stopped working on the rabbit carcasses since she asked Finn to come with her, but now she was setting aside the rabbit to focus on what she was saying. “A couple of things. One is about my past. Remember when I said that those hot springs had special significance?” Finn nodded. How could he forget? He spent one of, if not the most unforgettable nights of his life with Huntress there in those hot springs, and she told him he was the first she had ever taken there due to how they had saved her life at one point. “It’s something I need to show in its context.” Huntress continued, as Finn remained silent.  

          “But there is something I’d rather talk about now."

          “Talk to me, hon.” Finn said, his voice soft. Huntress nodded as she struggled to find the words to continue.

          “I…uh… see things, Finn. In my head. About you. Bad things.” She said, her voice almost down to a whisper, but not quite. Finn could tell this was something that she had been burying for a while and was either deeply ashamed or afraid to talk about openly.

          “What kind of things?”

          “I see you in the hospital. Or worse, right after you..." Huntress shut her eyes tight. Finn knew what she was talking about.

           He had come very, very close to killing himself, and the only reason he was alive was because Bronwyn had found him before his mistake became permanent.

             Huntress continued. "I think it’s because I still haven’t gotten over what happened last year. Not really. Everyone seems to have moved on, and I feel like I’m stuck in this same space, held to the ground by thorned vines.” Her voice had started trembling as tears formed in her eyes.

          Finn looked at his girlfriend of over a year. “Has it gotten better at all?"

          “It’s not nearly as frequent, but hits harder when it does, I can’t really be sure.”

          "What happens? How does it make you feel?"

          “That’s… a more complicated question. It's not really what I'm seeing in my head, rather, it's the awful feeling I get when it happens. The utter, soul crushing dread” Huntress began openly sobbing as she tried to first the words out. “It feels… It feels… oh glob… it feels like I knew that you were gone, and I would never see your -“Huntress was choking on her words, “-beautiful face-“ she reached up and touched her fingers to his face, “- ever again.”

          Finn stepped over the carcasses they had been working on and pulled her into a fierce hug. “I love you, Melia.” Said Finn. “Promise me you’ll tell me when it happens next.”

“I promise.” Huntress said, and Finn could feel her nod into his shoulder.

Finn reached up and began gently stroking the leaves in her hair. “And I promise to do better.”

“Thank you.” Said Huntress, her voice muffled by being buried in his neck.

 

 

          Bronwyn and Phoebe arrived at their dorm. They had been chatting up a storm between each other, with Bronwyn explaining campus life while Phoebe told stories of how the people in the Fire Kingdom lived.

          The room was divided into two, one side for Bronwyn, which was a typical college dorm room, and one side was for Phoebe, which was fireproofed and had a deployable heat curtain to partition the space. It also had copious fire alarms, sprinklers, and several fire extinguishers.

          For now, Phoebe was fine with her pendant. She found she could interact relatively normally as long as it was active, which was about 8 hours. Then it would have to recharge. Definitely something that I am going to have to carefully manage, thought Phoebe.

          She also really like her roommate. At least for now. She knew that people could pretend to be someone else just to manipulate them, so while she liked Bronwyn, she knew she couldn’t trust her. It was just too risky, both for her safety and her heart as well. Still, she was fun.

          Bronwyn managed to finally loosen up and act herself around this fire chick. She’d never really considered herself bi, but whatever. She didn’t exactly have hang ups about such things. It wasn’t something she really stressed about. Her dad was demanding on her school and career prospects, but if he cared any less about what kind of person she dated, he would pass out. As long as they weren’t like, damaging or toxic or whatever.

 Plus, as her grandpa always said, it wasn’t about the personality matrixes of the chart, it was about the pump pump pump of the heart! He was a pretty cool guy.

In any case, she still needed to, you know, get to know this girl, and she definitely a tough nut to crack. She was very closed off, avoiding talking about herself and her parents (other than that they didn’t get along and were usually being butts to each other), but every now and then, like when she initially got handed the class shirt, Phaera showed her true passionate self, and Bronwyn thought that person was amazing.

The left the door to their dorm open as Bronwyn helped her roommate lift her things into the room. She didn’t have much, only a couple of chests of clothing and other small accoutrements. As she was setting up the room, she looked across the hallway and saw the last people she wanted to see. Stacy and Derek. Walking up to and slamming the door, she returned to sit on the bed and stared at the floor, silent.

Phoebe had been folding and putting clothing in her dresser when she saw the display. Seeing the distress of her roommate, Phoebe softly walk in front of her.

“Would you like to be alone?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“I take it has to do with the people outside.”

“I may as well spill it. Derek, the fox, cheated on me with that bear, Stacy. This happened like, a few days ago.”

Phoebe frowned. “That really sucks, Bronwyn, but I know how you feel.”

Bronwyn looked up. “Someone cheated? On you?” A look of disbelief ran across her face at the thought. “Who could be that dumb?”

Phoebe smiled. “No, they didn’t cheat on me, but they did betray my trust in a pretty serious way, and people got hurt who didn’t need to.”

“I imagine you busted them a good one.”

“I didn’t, actually. I dumped him, but after a while we started talking again. We’re friends now, but I think it was for the best, I don’t think we would have been right for each other in the first place.”

“I can’t ever see myself forgiving that dick.”

“There’s no rule that says you have to.”

Bronwyn sighed, looking up at the blazing face of her roommate. “Someone would have to be a real donk to blow it with someone like you.” Phoebe looked away timidly as she blushed at the comment.

Someone knocked at the door. Phoebe answered and found her “parents” at the entrance.

“Hello, my beautiful dear daughter! How are your accommodations?” Said Ogun, in a tone very close to sarcasm. “I trust they meet your satisfaction?”

“They seem fine, dad.” Phoebe was both annoyed and embarrassed.

“Hello, daughter. Who is this?” Said Seraphina, pointing at Bronwyn.

“This is, uh, Bronwyn, my roommate. And sponsor.”

As Ogun looked around the room, paying special attention to entrances and door latches, Seraphina moved within uncomfortable proximity of Bronwyn, who was still sitting on her bed. She found herself looking up into the very merciless and judgmental eyes of the older fire-woman.

“Bronwyn. Hmmm. Who are your mother and father?” Asked the elemental.

“Uh, my father is Kim Kil Whan, my mother is Pat Whan, why do ask?”

Seraphina coldly appraised her. “No reason. Pleased to meet you, Bronwyn. Ogun?” Seraphina said, turning to promptly leave.

Ogun quickly followed her out, saying “Oh, are we leaving? Nice to meet you, Bronwyn. Talk to you later darling dearest!” He slammed the door on the way out.

Bronwyn stared at the door for a moment, then at Phoebe, who wore an embarrassed grimace. “Are they, uh, always like that?”

Phoebe nodded; her expression was unchanged.

“I see, how exactly did you turn out normal?”

“I don’t think I did.” She said, completely serious. “So!” She said, lightening up with a smile on her face, “What now?”

Bronwyn thought for a moment. “Want to get some food?”

Phoebe smiled. “I’d love to.”

 

Outside the dorms, Ogun and Seraphina quietly discussed their assessment of the room. “Doors and locks are what I expected. There are hidden cameras aimed from inside at the door and window, but the beds are a blind-spot, which is probably intentional” Said Ogun, as he walked beside his companion.

“How sentimental of them, sacrificing safety because they might be ashamed someone caught them jacking off or something.”

“I agree. What of the girl?”

“Her mind was clear. I sensed no deception. I will follow up with her parents, but I suspect she is exactly who she says she is.”

They continued walking in silence, until Ogun broke it with a question. “Food?”

Seraphina rolled her eyes. “What is this, a date? I’m going “home”. Do whatever you want.” Ogun frowned as he watched the prickly woman walk away from him. Glob, she is such a miserable tranch, he thought to himself.

Chapter 8

Higa appraised the vessel bearing down on them through his spyglass. A tri-sail xebec with its oars up. She was solely on wind power. Despite this, she was getting closer, and the crew he could make out did not look like they wanted a friendly cultural exchange.

Pirates.

“Wake the General,” he said, spyglass still on his eye.

That had been underway for a day, with another day to go. They would have already made landfall if the winds were more favorable, but the sea had been fighting them the whole way. They had to tack the entire journey, which greatly increased their travel time.

Until today, that is. Once they were in the inlet, with the fire peninsula to their west and desert coastline to the east, the winds turned and they were making good time.

It also brought pirates with it, apparently.

Naikairis arrived on deck. It was morning twilight, so he was already awake.

He saw Higara with the spyglass. “Report”

“Vessel is overtaking us from the South. It is likely hostile.”

“It is a certainty, Higa. Fire Kingdom likely put out Letters of Marque for any sea kingdom vessel. To them, we are either soldiers, merchants, or spies.”

“And if we are civilians, sir?”

“Then there would be no-one left to tell the tale. Can you estimate the size of their crew?”

“At least 100 for a vessel of that size.”

“Let me see.” Higa passed the spyglass over to him.

“Ah. Hmm. Yes. I concur with your assessment, major. Go get Aritanus.”

“If you need a tidecaster sir, there’s already one on duty.”

“I need Aritanus.”

“Yes sir.”

 

Once Aritanus was on deck, Naikairis conversed with him privately. Colonel Artus joined the conversation. Higa could see trepidation in the old Tide-caster’s eyes as he was frantically trying to steer Naikairis away from whatever course of action he was pursuing. Colonel Artus simply observed. When Aritanus walked away with a defeated look on his face, Higa knew things were about to get interesting.

“Higa, need everyone up here.”

Higa nodded and sounded the call.

The entire crew was up within minutes, and Naikairis gave them the plan.

“Alright, boys. We don’t have the numbers to fight that vessel. We would be outnumbered at least 5 to 1, likely more. We also can’t outrun her. “ Naikaris paused as he looked over at Aritanus, who was staring off into the distance. “So, we are going to play a game. It’s called, ‘Who is the better seaman.’ Tidecaster Aritanus is going to bring the wrath of Mala down upon us all. Their numbers won’t matter. Their speed won’t matter. Mala willing, they will capsize in her waves and founder while we make our escape.”

The crew looked around at each other nervously. This was going to be a long night.

Naikairis picked up on their dismay and said. “We can do this, boys. Wrap your tail around something sturdy, pray to Mala, and ride the sea. We are mariners of the sea kingdom. A little storm isn’t going to be our end.” With that, Naikairis began issuing orders.

“Batten down the hatches, rig for the storm. Clear the deck of anything that could go overboard. Move all ballast to the bottom of the hull. I want minimum crew on deck, everyone else low and in the center. Make sure pumps are ready, and get some ropes tied around you.”

Once the crew made ready, Naikairis looked at Aritanus. “It’s time. Show them the ocean’s fury.”

Aritanus began chanting as energy coursed through his staff to create a beam of light reaching into the clouds. The wind began to blow. The sky darkened, and the rain started, slowly at first, but continued to build.

A half hour later, they were in the middle of the night-o-sphere itself.

Vast waves crashed into both vessels as torrential rains filled the air. The harsh winds made it difficult to maintain a heading, and this was compounded by them being unable to see the land to make a fix. They were all at the storm’s mercy. Higa prayed to Mala that they would see the morning, as he desperately clung to the crow’s nest while the ship rocked violently beneath him.

 

 

 

          “So, a barista makes drinks with magic beans.” Asked Phoebe. Her and Bronwyn had finally returned to their dorm after their long tour of the campus. Phoebe saw where her classes were going to be, the various amenities on campus, and the cafeteria which housed the coffee stand where they would both be working.

It was called “Super Bean,” and Phoebe had so many questions.

          “I mean, they’re not actually magical, I just call them that because they are so awesome.” Said Bronwyn.

          “Why are they awesome?”

          “Coffee has caffeine which helps people stay awake. It makes them more alert.”

          “It’s a drug, then?”

          “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

          “My job will be to make these coffee drug drinks, but I don’t even drink coffee. I don’t think I can drink coffee. What if I’m horrible at it and no one tells me? What if I make people sick!? I’ll basically be a drug dealer!”

          Bronwyn laughed. “It’s just a job. I’m sure you’ll be great at it. It’s not like baristas taste test the coffee before handing it to the customer. Just follow the instructions and you’ll be fine.”

          “Thanks, but I prefer to catastrophize.” Phoebe joked, causing Bronwyn to laugh.

 Phoebe was still unpacking. She didn’t have much. Her room had more than enough storage. She would have to acquire some more clothing, as she only had a couple sets of non-royal attire. Everything else she had would’ve marked her as a target. She opted for one her rap outfits: a white shirt with purple stripes and blue sweatpants.

Drawing the flame-retardant screen out to divide the room, she changed out of her dress and into the new outfit, topping it off with a hat displaying the logo of her rap group. When she was finished, she retracted the screen and she laid on her bed, facing Bronwyn.

          “Oh, are you a fan of DJ FP and the Notorious NEPTR too?!” Asked Bronwyn, excitedly. “I love them!”

          “Uh, yeah. Big fan!” said Phoebe, nervously. “You could say I know all of their stuff! Haha!”

          “That’s really cool! Me too!” Bronwyn was on her bed sorting through flyers and paperwork. She had a lot to prepare for the following day as they had more exchange students coming, including a few more students under the refugee program.

          “Your parents seem really intense.” Bronwyn asked.

          “Yeah, they don’t get along that well. It’s really frustrating.”

          “That blows. My parents fight occasionally but they usually get along, at least when they’re not talking about me.” Bronwyn rolled her eyes as she thought of their many arguments. “At least you can get away from them here!”

          “Yeah, about that, my father will be working as a school security guard.”

          “Oh glob, I’m sorry. That really blows.”

          “Yeah. What about you? What is your family like?”

          “I’m an only child, but I have a million uncles and a great uncle.”

          “Oh wow! You must’ve been spoiled then!” Phoebe said, winking at her.

          “Oh, yeah. My uncle Finn definitely spoils me. Always brings me back something from his ‘adventures’ as he calls them.”

          “Finn? As in Finn the Human?”

          Bronwyn chuckled. “Yeah, the one and only.” She said, sheepishly. “I don’t really bring it up with people if I don’t have to, so if you could keep this between us…”

          “Of course! Your secret is safe with me. Wait, that would mean your grandfather is—”

          “—Jacob T. Dog. Yup. He’s as ridiculous as the stories say. I love him to death though. One of the chillest people I know.”

Crap! Thought Phoebe. Crap! Crap! Crap!

          Of all the people she could have been stuck with, her sponsor/roommate had a direct line to some of the few people in all of Ooo who knew Phoebe personally. She would have to be really careful. If anyone could pierce her disguise, it would be Finn and Jake. Finn could probably keep a secret, but Jake? She may as well wear a sign that says “Hi, I’m ruler of the Fire Kingdom!”

          Huntress Wizard might also be an issue. She was never far from Finn when she wasn’t on one of her patrols. She may not know Phoebe to the degree Finn and Jake did, but nothing escaped that woman’s gaze. If HW detected any sign of inconsistency or cracks in Phoebe’s cover, Finn would soon know.

          “What do you like to do for fun?” Asked Phoebe, trying to change the subject away from family.

          “Lots of stuff, but I’ve been focusing on music lately.”

          “Oh, what kind of stuff do you play?”

          Bronwyn blushed. “Uh, well, I guess it could be called extreme growling death metal.” She said, wearing grimace as if she was embarrassed.

          “Wait, you can growl? That’s really hard!”

          “Thank You! People act as if it’s easy to do. It isn’t! It took a lot of hard work to be able to do it!” She replied, all traces of her embarrassment gone.

          “Do you have a band?”

          “Yes, I call it, ‘Bitch’, but really the only other person is my brother-uncle TV. He is an amazing drummer.”

          “Brother-uncle”

          “Yeah, he’s kinda both. He’s my uncle, technically, but he’s more of a brother to me. It’s weird.”

          “I’d love to hear you guys play.”

          “Me too. TV won’t play in front of a crowd though. I’m trying to fix that. What about you? You do any music yourself?”

          “Yes, I love rap, and have done my own stuff as well.”

          “Anything out on record?”

          “No.” Phoebe lied.

          “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Deal?”

          “Deal.” Said Phoebe, smiling at her new friend.

         

          Finn and Huntress arrived at the hot springs in the evening, just as the last crescent of the sun was disappearing below the horizon.  

          Huntress removed the charm concealing its entrance, and Finn began setting up their camp within. It had been over a year since either had been there, the last time being Finn’s 18^th birthday. After they ate a light meal, they both shed their clothing and hopped into the steaming water.

          Huntress had her head on Finn’s shoulder as she hummed a tune he didn’t recognize.

          “That sounds beautiful, where did you hear that?”

          “It’s another song of my people. There are words, but I do not remember them.”

          Finn recalled why they were here. “What made you want to come back here, Melia? Not that I’m complaining about hot springs, but I remember you wanted to tell me something.”

          “Yes, just give me a moment.”

          Huntress continued to hum her song as Finn listened. After a few long minutes, her song finished. “Remember when I told you this place saved my life?”

          “Yes. I assumed it had saved you from a blizzard or something.”

          “It did, but that’s not all that happened. Glob, where do I begin.”

          Finn waited quietly as Huntress sorted the thoughts in her head.

          “I am an outcast from my people, Finn. I can never return.”

          Finn took a moment to consider the implications. “How long ago was this?”

          “Many years ago at this point. Probably at least 10.”

          Finn was shocked. “That means you were an outcast when you were like, 12 years old. What could a 12-year-old do to be thrown out like that? They’d have to ki—”

          “— kill someone? Yes, that’s exactly what I did. I killed one of my village.” Said Huntress, her voice quiet and even.

          “What happened?”

          “He tried to take one of my sisters. He had a reputation of doing… terrible things to his brides. When he came for her, I pushed a dagger into his chest.”

          “That’s… heavy, Melia. How do you feel about that?”

          “He had it coming. I don’t regret what I did, but it came at a cost. I was disowned by my parents. It was the law. My name was removed from the village saga. The only reason the Ealdormen didn’t execute me immediately is because they knew of their compatriot’s…. proclivities. That’s why they banished me, not that it should have made much of a difference: it was winter. I had almost no chance of surviving as a child in that frozen land.”

          “Oh, my grease. How did you survive?”

          “The Spirit of the Forest found me. He was the only one I had for almost 4 years, until I went to wizard city. He taught me about the land, the spirits of the forest, and the beauty of the natural world. I fell in love with the forest, Finn, but I was so alone. You cannot imagine how lonely it was.”

          “What about the spirit of the forest? Did he not provide at least a little companionship?”

          “I love the Spirit of the Forest, but no, he does not relate to people like you and I do. He is aloof. Alien. Transcendent. He simply does not see the world like we do.”

          “How does this place figure in the story?”

          “This is where he took me after he found me. I was close to death, freezing. He brought me here to save me, and this is where I lived before starting on the path of wizardry.”

          “I see why you had a fear of softness.”

          “Softness would’ve gotten me killed. I hated the feeling of being so helpless when I sat out in the chill of that first night, my life slowly being sucked out of me. As my hope drowned, I vowed that, if I made it through that first night, to never feel like that again. No matter what.”

          Finn wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She responded in kind, firmly wrapping her arms around his waist.

          “And now you know.” She said. “There’s one more thing.”

          “What is it?”

          “My people live in the region we are traveling to. You may or may not see them. It’s possible we see the village. Respect my wishes, and do not try to talk to them about me. I am an outcast. That’s what my mask means. I am okay with that. Let it lie. Promise me.”

          “I… I promise. Why not try to close that rift though?”

          “I am, but it takes time. A long time. Trying to rush it can make things worse as it usually results in the breaking of further taboos.”

“How so? Aren’t you already nothing to them already? What would you have to lose?” Finn paused, realizing he might be digging too deep. “Never mind, forget I said anything.”  

“It’s fine, Finn. An outcast is not the lowest status. An outcast cannot live in the village or interact with most anyone, but they can still trade with the merchants there and live in the forest, and even have a measure of official protection. We can live beside each other in peace. We can even fight for the village if the need arises. I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

“All right. I promise to not interfere or do anything. Do it your way, just promise me you’ll come to me for help if you need it.”

Huntress smiled. “I promise.”

Chapter 9

          Seraphina finished her background check on Bronwyn and her parents. There was nothing there that stood out as a threat. Quite the contrary, she was related to and frequently hung out with Finn the Human and Jake the Dog. Those two were unambiguously honest and good-leaning. They would not be a threat. They might even be powerful allies, if the time came where that mattered.

          Her security assessment hadn’t revealed any significant holes, and she had to grudgingly admit that Princess Bubblegum was actually pretty good at the whole physical security thing. Every major avenue of approach had redundant surveillance on it, dummy cameras were used to distract from the real ones, and the dorm itself was a fortress in disguise. Every room could be used as a defensible position and had multiple routes of egress on each side. As far as schools went, it didn’t get much better than this.

          The only real issue she could see were the sewers as well as the old ruins beneath the castle. The city was hundreds of years old, and like any old city it built itself in layers. She did not know the layout below nor its security. Still, the surface was in good shape, which was a pleasant surprise, and the Candy Kingdom was by no means alone in having security holes in uninhabited layers. She set a reminder to ask the princess for any diagrams of the undercity, should they exist. The worst she could say is “no.”

          She sat back in her chair, sipping a cup of hot magma with some obsidian flakes thrown in. It was an old torchman cocktail. Or so her father once said, although he was a notorious liar and madman, though those were the least of his faults. Still, she couldn’t fault his taste.

The house they were given was well built with all of the amenities one could ask for. On the surface, this had the potential of being one of her easiest jobs ever, especially for the pay. It wasn’t the highest she’d ever worked for, but it was close, and that’s what made her feel uneasy. Just because she wasn’t buried up to her neck in an ash filled trench didn’t mean there wasn’t a threat present. The pay itself implied that their threat was serious, and it was compounded by being present in a place that looked anything but threatening. Whatever or whomever it was, it had the ability to reach out and hit someone even at the center of one of the most well-guarded and secure places on Ooo.

Seraphina couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. The Candy Kingdom was not a significant military power. It wasn’t completely defenseless, but its army was far from pre-eminent and most did not fear facing it in open battle.  It was, however, known for being nigh impenetrable to espionage. Princess Bubblegum, the pretty little dictator, had made the happy little Candy Kingdom one of the foremost police states in all of Ooo.

She knew she was being tracked. She was even counting on it, as it meant help wouldn’t be far. Normally she tried to live off the grid, but on a job? Allies could surveil away for all she cared. Seraphina didn’t fully trust the Princess, but she was pretty confident she wouldn’t burn bridges with the Fire Kingdom if she didn’t have to. Bubblegum was also no friend of the Sea Kingdom, and while they weren’t strictly enemies yet, that day was coming, sooner or later.

She heard a knock at the door. Holding a dagger behind her back, she answered, opening the door by only a sliver, enough to see who it was.

Two banana guards stood awkwardly on her front doorstep. One of them started reading, poorly, from the card they were holding in their trembling hand.

“Uh, On be-half of Princess Bubblegum and Colonel Candy Corn, I wel-come you to the Banana Guard Aux… Auxil—”

“Auxiliary?”

“Uh, yes, that one.”

“No need to rush, take your time.” Said Seraphina.

“The Guard… Augslry is a new branch de-di-ca-ted to enhan…enhancing community outreach. Provide them with schedule and contact list.”

“I don’t think you were supposed to say that last part out loud.” Said the other banana guard.

“Huh? But it’s on the card, you say what’s on the card.”

“Not that part. Just give them the schedule and contact list.”

“Okay, well, hand them over then.”

“I didn’t bring it! That was your job!”

“I’m reading the cards! I already have a job!”

“Can I please have the schedule and contact list?” Said Seraphina, smiling impatiently. They were cute, but she had work to do.

“Oh, uh… never mind, I have it right here! It was in the cards.”

“Anything else?” She asked?

“Uh, no?”

“Okay! Look forward to working with you! Bye!” She said, closing the door.

 

“She seems nice.” Said one banana guard to the other.

 

 

Seraphina perused her schedule. Standard beat cop city guard type stuff. She would be spending most of her time here in the fire quarter and school. That, and keeping herself apprised of what was going on in the streets. Right up her alley.

She heard another knock. “Yes?”

“Mrs. Torchsmith, we forgot something!” It was the banana guards.

“Well, what is it?” She said, opening the door.

“Your uniform!” They both said with smiles on their faces.

It was a banana costume. She was going to be a banana. She was going to patrol the streets wearing a banana costume. Ogun was going to have a field day with this. Glob dammit.

“Oh, well isn’t this lovely! Thank you so much” She said, taking it and slamming the door behind her.

 

 

Ogun had spent very little time in the Candy Kingdom, and for good reason: it was just the worst. Adorable cute candy people, everywhere. Too much pink. Everyone so obnoxiously friendly and wholesome. It was the sort of cloying, happy, greasiness that permeated every fiber of one’s being, slowly eroding away any resistance. It threatened to put a genuine smile on his face, and he hated it.

And yet, here we are, he thought.

Famished, he spotted a restaurant nearby, and a quick scan of the menu showed that they had actually incorporated some of the standard fare from his homeland. Nothing special or unique, but it was more than most places would usually offer.

A waitress in the shape of a candy cane approached him.

“1 please.” He said, and the server promptly led him to a partitioned space suitable for flame elementals. It wasn’t heated, but everything was clearly fireproofed so he wouldn’t need to bother with his pendant. It was a reasonable compromise.

“This is nice. How long has all this been here? The flame stuff I mean?”

“Oh, that’s pretty recent, the Princess knew the war would have refugees and funded renovations to make it more comfortable for folks like you.”

“How very considerate of her.” Ogun paused, and took a moment to look at the menu. “I’ll take the coal cakes.”

“Right away!” The waitress gave a slight bow and scurried off.

Ogun passively absorbed his surroundings. This trip wasn’t entirely for leisure; he needed to be tied into the feeling and atmosphere of this place. He needed to know when it changed, and what that meant. Vibes were a powerful sensor for the astute.

The cobblestone streets had moderate foot traffic with the occasional carriage. The vast majority were candy people, as expected, but he could spot a few foreigners in the crowd. Pink and other bright, colorful tones dominated the architecture, which was an eclectic mix of elements he could not recognize. Business appeared to be good. He noted the Banana Guard patrol passing by.

That’s when he noticed it.

There was a painting hung on the far wall, just outside of the area dedicated to torchmen.

The Capitulation of Prince Ogun. It was a classic rendition. Billy, the legendary hero, stood victoriously, radiating strength and grace. In front of him was the kneeling, craven prince, who was painted in tones suggesting him a villain or something worthy of pity. Fear and hatred shone on his doppelganger’s face in the painting. He looked utterly defeated.

Objectively, it was an excellent recreation of a well-known masterpiece.

He stood up and moved to leave.

“Sir! Sir! Your food!” The waitress said, his order in her hands.

“I’ll take it to go.” He said, quickly placing coin, including a modest tip, on the table.

 

 

 

 

The Emperor sat at the head of the war table, as was tradition in the Sea Kingdom. His senior military staff, consisting of generals, lords, and other martial functionaries, sat everywhere else they could find.

The war room was a rather new addition, and the Emperor spared no expense. Marble columns supported a structure built in the old style of the early republic, hearkening to a glorious past and connecting those in the room with the martial history and traditions of their people. Engraved murals showing past victories and heroes covered the walls, and they were supplemented by tapestries reminding the soldiery of the oaths. The rear wall, behind Kaitan, hung his own portrait. It was a masterpiece commissioned much earlier in his life, showing the emperor as he was before he took the mantle. It showed him as a soldier, resplendent in his impeccable uniform.

“Gentlemen, I have heard a number of you express the desire to continue the campaign on the mainland in the short term, despite the threat of the Queen. I would hear your thoughts.”

One of his more senior Generals rose. “Yes sire, while our combat power has been reduced, we believe it pertinent to continue exerting pressure on the front so as to reduce their ability to fortify their positions, as well as maintain a basic level of reconnaissance in the area. It would also allow us to continue developing experience in fighting in such an inhospitable region.”

Kaitan squinted his eyes in thought. “I see the value in this, but what of the queen?”

A different officer replied. “While the Queen would certainly show herself against a full invasion force, we do not believe she would commit herself against a small raiding party. We propose nothing more than perhaps a few companies, no more than a thousand.”

Kaitan nodded. It was a novel idea, and relatively low risk in terms of manpower and resources. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a few small victories to show the people while they licked their wounds.

“Who do you propose we send, and who would lead this force?”

“Well, sire, we’ve been talking, and we think-“

“Sire I have just the man for the job.” Olin, his spymaster, interrupted the officer speaking. The old general blustered at the lack of respect.

“Excuse me, but this is a military matter, not a spy game.”

Orin smiled. “I’m not recommending a spy.”

Kaitan’s face was impassive. What was Olin up to?

Suddenly addressing the assembled staff, he said, “I find merit in this. I want your proposals on my desk by the end of the week. You know the drill.”

Emperor Kaitan rose, signaling the end of the brief meeting. The staff saluted, then began filing out of the room.

Once the pair were alone, Kaitan began.

“Orin, I like you, but you didn’t make any friends today.”

“Yes sire, I suppose not, but I think it’ll be worth it.” Olin faced one of the entrances. “Colonel Varst!”

Kaitan noticed a few things as Colonel Varst entered the room.

First, he approached with a confident, loose walk that bore absolutely none of the usual tension the Kaitan’s station usually elicited. He looked rather young for a Colonel, but was completely without fear or trepidation in the emperor’s presence, a rare thing.

Second, he was out of uniform. He wore the garments of his station, but they were worn and modified blatantly outside of regulation. His sleeves were rolled. His top button was undone. His officer’s jacket was tailored loosely, likely for mobility, and it also completely lacked the required belt, being held together only with buttons. Speaking of which, the buttons were deliberately dulled along with every other metallic device and decoration on his uniform.

The third thing he noticed was his armament. Officers in the Sea Kingdom Army invariably wore swords at their side as a symbol of their rank. Swords were expensive to manufacture, and they were often handed down family lines, further cementing the importance and meaning of the weapon. Colonel Varst, however, wore only a small hand axe on one side and a machete on the other. Both were well worn but well maintained.

Finally, the last thing the emperor noticed was his eyes. He’d seen that look before. It’s the look of a man who knew that, when his time came, nothing of real value will have been lost.

“Sire” said the Colonel, bowing as was tradition, but only just.

Kaitan crossed his arms, resting his chin between a thumb and forefinger in thought. “Olin believes you are the man for a very unique job.”

Orin faced the rugged officer. “Tell him what you told me.”

Varst looked at Olin, then at the emperor. “Permission to speak freely, sire.”

An odd request. Kaitan nodded.

“By all means, Colonel.”

“The general staff are correct in the strategic sense but their methods are outdated. Tomorrow morning, they will show you exactly what you expect to see: traditional skirmishing lines, probing columns, forward positions. That won’t work here. The enemy is cornered, they know it, and they will be shown to be exceptionally dangerous in the days to come.”

“What do you propose, Colonel?”

“I will be the first to admit, sire, that I am wary of the Ash Queen. She is death incarnate. But.” The Colonel paused.

“But?”

“The generals are right that she won’t show until she is absolutely needed. It’s too risky, and I imagine you already have assassins after her.”

Kaitan remained silent.

“This presents an opportunity. A protracted, low intensity conflict combined with terror and deception to foment chaos within the enemy. The attacks will be vicious and deliberately inhumane, but will be confined to a scope small enough to avoid drawing out a full army, let alone the Queen. Objectively, it won’t be much of military concern, but psychologically… We make them uncomfortable. We make them give up land, inch by inch, day by day, not enough to feel like they are losing, but they will be.”

          “I see.” Kaitan pointed a finger at the Colonel. “And what do you need to accomplish this?”

          Varst met the emperors gaze, and a sinister grin grew on the young colonel's face.

          “I need 200 of the most vicious killers imaginable.”

Chapter 10

          Phoebe frothed the milk for her customers latte’, the beans already grinding in the background courtesy of her lollipop colleague. It was her third day, and while she occasionally tripped up on some of the more complex orders, her various coworkers eagerly filled her in on how it all worked.

All in all, it was a pretty chill, pretty easy job. Her only limitation was that she really wasn’t good at the whole “iced coffee” thing. Not because of her being a living inferno; that issue was resolved by her pendant. She was just bad at making them. Fortunately, those were pretty rare, as most everyone on campus ordered one of three things: A latte’, a latte’ with a fancy chocolate they called “mocha”, or a latte’ with caramel. The only other deviation was how many shots of espresso to put in.

There were, of course, two exceptions. The first was her increasingly distracting and peculiar roommate. Bronwyn would order her coffee black without a hint of milk, cream, or sugar. When she ordered the other people in line would look at her like she just ordered a live baby to be eaten raw.

Bronwyn, naturally, didn’t care at all what they thought, because that is how Bronwyn rolled. Not that it mattered, as the main reason she didn’t care was because her attention was focused entirely on Phoebe and what she was doing. Asking how her day was going. What she was doing after work. If she was enjoying her new job. What classes she was taking. Has she listened to any good music lately. Has she met any of the professors. Has she made any new friends.

Considering that Phoebe had been working there for less than 72 hours, she didn’t have much to say. She was focused on getting any studying down she could to prepare for class, as well as attend to missives sent through couriers regarding Kingdom business.

Not that Phoebe didn’t enjoy the conversation. It was nice, for once, to talk about nothing of any real importance with someone who genuinely wanted her company as opposed to her many petitioners who came only because they wanted something. It came with being a Queen, so it wasn’t something she resented, but she was going to take advantage of being a ‘regular person’ as much as she could.

That being said, her roommate was still very distracting (and peculiar) which had become a professional issue as she couldn’t take her attention off of the drink she was making for long without ruining it. She could manage Bronwyn’s order without much of an issue, but it rapidly became a serious problem when other customers ordered while the extremely sociable rainicorn/magic-dog/bear hybrid continued her verbal interrogation.

This led to the second exception, which was Professor Simon Petrikov. He usually accompanied Bronwyn to the coffee shop, always talking about something historic until Bronwyn ordered. She would then proceed to inquire on all things under the sun while the professor ordered the most complicated things she’d ever heard of in her short time as a “barista,” which would end in a coffee disaster. She was 2 for 2 so far, and as they walked in at their usual time, she hoped she wouldn’t make it 3 for 3.

“Heyyyyy Phaera! How’s it going!” She waved as she walked in, the professor filing in behind her.

Phoebe smiled as she saw her new friend enter the café’. “Welcome to Super Bean! Hey Bron, it’s, you know, going.”

“Going huh? Well, I’ll take the black coffee with no cream or sugar please and thank you!” she said, obnoxiously loud so that the entire rest of the shop could hear. Phoebe had to stifle a laugh when she heard one of the patrons seated nearby say “ew” while side eyeing her boisterous friend.

“Hey!” Bronwyn said, pointing at her critic. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” She looked back at Phoebe with a lopsided grin. “These guys, I tell ya. How is work so far?”

Phoebe’s smile didn’t waiver but she kept a courteous and professional demeanor. This was, after all, her first “real actual normal person” job, and she took it very seriously. “Oh, things are great. Business has been good.”

“Oh? Getting better I take it?”

“I think so.”

“I’m thinking of changing the curtains in the room. What do you think we should get?”

Phoebe was unprepared for the question. Curtains? “Uh, I don’t think my sense of fashion would be compatible with the room.”

“Really? Why?”

“Curtains tended to burn in the places I lived.”

“Ah. I see. Makes sense. What do you usually like?”

Aggressive looking suits of armor. Portraits of her conquering ancestors. Fire. Lots of weapons. War trophies. Rap album accolades. Tapestries. So many glorious Tapestries. And candles. “Oh, I don’t know, I guess I’ve never really gave it a lot of thought. I love candles, I guess?”

“Candles I can do!”

 “Professor Petrikov, have you decided what you’d like?” She had been eyeing him with trepidation as he perused the menu through his narrow spectacles.

The antiquarian hummed softly to himself, then said, “I think I’ll try a venti salted caramel mocha Frappuccino with five pumps of frap roast, four pumps of caramel sauce, four pumps of caramel syrup, three pumps of mocha, three pumps of toffee nut syrup, double blended with extra whipped cream.

“I… Is that all?” Phoebe’s voice, to her credit, avoided a whimper.

“Yes! I know it’s big, take all the time you need.”

Phoebe forced a smile on her face and was mostly successful at not looking nervous. Glancing around the counter, she began slowly collecting the ingredients while looking hopefully at the lollipop girl working next to her. She looked just as lost as Phoebe was.

Simon observed the pair for a moment, then realized he may have gone too far. “Hey! Tell you what. How about I teach you two how I used to do things? I was a barrista for 6 years while at Oxford. You don’t know what Oxford university was like, but let me tell you, they ordered the most pretentious drinks, things so out of this world that we almost ceased bothering having a menu.” He said, as he walked around the counter next to Phoebe. “Do you mind?”

“N-not at all!” Phoebe said, the relief in her voice palpable.

Simon gave her an easy smile as he began systematically setting up the various ingredients. “So, the first thing I did was grab everything I need. You had the right Idea. What I also did, and what I recommend, is place the ingredients somewhere significant, maybe even a marked area, indicating what to do with it. What we used to do was have numbers drawn in various places around the counter, that way we could put it next to a ‘3’ and know that 3 pumps were needed.”

As Simon went over the way he used to do things, he expertly made his drink, showing them each how to best do every step, when to do it, and why he did it in that specific order. Bronwyn, Phoebe, and the shy lollipop girl looked in wonder at how deft he threw it together.

“Professor.” Said Bronwyn, “I warn you, if you keep doing this, people may start to think you’re cool.

“Oh!” the older man said in mock alarm. “Well we can’t have that!” He quickly rushed around to the other side of the counter, then paid, with a considerable tip, for the drink he just made. “For the record, ordering stuff actually on the menu made me very un-cool. A total square, as they say, so that should excuse me from any perceived, shall we say, je ne sais quoi.” He winked at Phoebe and the lollipop girl before moving to take a seat by one of the windows near the entrance.

“What did any of that mean?” Phoebe quietly asked, as she continued smiling politely at the retreating professor.

“I have no lumping idea.” Bronwyn replied, also looking at the professor, who was ignoring them both. The lollipop girl remained silent, looking fully and completely dumbfounded at the entire exchange.

“What are you doing after work?” Asked her roommate, her attention now squarely back on Phoebe.

“I have to go to my, uh, parent’s place, family dinner or something.”

“Lame. I guess I’ll see you later tonight then?”

“Of course!” Phoebe watched as Bronwyn left to sit with the professor, both of them chatting up something she couldn’t quite hear. Every now and then, Bronwyn would catch Phoebe looking at her and wink, causing the flame elemental to blush and quickly look away, a pattern that would continue until they left the cafe’.

 

 

Finn and Huntress had been enjoying a pleasant day, right up until one of the worst storms Finn had ever seen hit them like a wailing banshee.

They had traveled South to hit the shoreline, then would have been traveling West if not for the fact that they were now stuck in a cave, soaking wet from the torrential downpour.

“Geez, where did that come from.” Finn said, as he wrung out his shirt. They had started a small fire near the entrance to keep warm and dry off in the meantime. They would not be traveling until it had passed so they had decided to make camp for the night.

Huntress was staring intensely out into the furious weather.

“This wasn’t natural. Someone caused this.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“This was sorcery. I can feel it.”

“Can you dispel it?”

“I’m trying. This storm isn’t natural for this area, I can’t even imagine the damage it’s causing.” She said, as she began drawing arcane symbols in the air.

Finn continued tending the fire, occasionally eyeing his girlfriend while she stood at the lip of the cave doing her wiz-biz.

Suddenly she yelped, then fell to the ground shaking.

“Huntress!”

Finn ran over to where she lay, her eyes glassy as she trembled. He put her head in his lap to protect it as he tried to calm her, any fear he had being drowned out by the need to help in any way he can. He begged her to tell him what was wrong, for her to say anything at all.

It was over in less then a minute. To Finn, it was an eternity. He had been booting up the medical diagnostic program in his arm when her eyes came back into focus and she ceased shaking.

“Huntress! What’s wrong?” Finn softly cupped her cheek as she came to.

She looked at him, her face completely devoid of emotion. “I did something really stupid.”

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Finn’s voice still had traces of his previous alarm, but it had calmed considerably.

“I’m a little dizzy, but I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“I tried dispelling the storm directly. I couldn’t do it, so I tried cutting off the caster from the spell. He lost control, and I got smacked by the backlash.”

“You were out of it pretty bad; you fell and were shaking. You scared the crap out of me!”

Finn saw pain grow in her eyes as she responded. “I failed, Finn. I thought the storm would end, but it’s going to keep going until it stops on its own. Who knows how long that will take. I… I messed up really bad.” She choked on those last words.

“You tried. It’s all any of us can do.” He said, as he hugged her closer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Higa moaned as he rolled over in the sand. Facing the sky, he saw it was still the color of lead, and he heard and smelled the ocean nearby. The faint sound of thunder echoed in the distance.

“That could’ve gone better.” He said to no-one in particular.

He remembered hitting shoals. The plan to create a storm had worked. The vessel pursuing them had capsized after two hours of fighting the intense storm, but not before the sorcerer who created the storm screamed then threw himself overboard.

They were then left to fend for themselves, with no visibility, with unreliable charts, during artificially worsened weather far beyond what these seas had likely ever seen.

He was lucky to be alive, truth be told. He checked himself over. He had some cuts, scrapes, and some pretty heavy bruising, but nothing serious. His joints seemed to be in working order.

His entire body aching, he managed to raise himself enough to take in his surroundings. He was on the shore, as he suspected, but there was nothing to orient as to which shore he was even on. Wreckage was floating in the surf, including what he was pretty sure was one of the masts.

Further out into the surf, he saw rocky shoals breaking through the surface along with the bow, and only the bow, of their former vessel. The stern was nowhere to be seen, either smashed to ruin or sunk beneath the waves. It was hard to tell at this distance. The only thing he could determine was that the bow remained still, meaning it had settled.

Lines had been cast to one of the rocks from the remains of the vessel, which was probably how he managed to get off of the vessel alive. He remembered a long night clinging to the rock with a few companions before swimming to the shore proper.

He didn’t see any of the rest of the crew, including Naikaris. He was alone, unarmed, and his clothing was in tatters. Did the others get washed out to sea? Did they go down with the stern? Most of the men were below decks when they hit rocks, and that was not a great place to be when a vessel started taking on water.

At least it was warm out. Sea folk like himself were resilient to colder temperatures, but they still had their limits. It was one less thing he had to worry about.

Hearing something rustle to his rear, he quickly spun around into a defensive stance. A green skinned humanoid was standing in the tree line behind him. They had leaves for hair and had what appeared to be tree branches as antlers, either as part of their body or as an odd headdress. The unusual being did not appear to be hostile. It simply peered at him curiously. Over its shoulder, it was carrying an animal carcass.

It said something he couldn’t quite hear. “Wh.. what? I can’t-“

“Are you injured?” The voice was young and masculine.

“I… don’t think so. Not seriously at least. Where am I?”

“You are on the northern shores of the Smokey Seas. By the forest, is that your vessel?” The young man said, pointing at the remains of their ship.

Higa looked behind him at the wreck. “What’s left of it.” Looking back at the stranger, he said “Have you seen any others like me?”

“No, but there are other hunters; they may have encountered your friends. Can you walk?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Follow.”

Seeing no choice, Higa got to his feet and followed.

Chapter 11

Finn spent the next day nursing Huntress back to health. She was in terrible shape, one moment sweating with a terrible fever, the next seizing as Finn did his best to keep her from injuring herself.

            What scared him the most was that physically there was nothing wrong with her, which meant that cyclops tears had no effect. Finn also knew basic field medicine as well as treatments for most common ailments, but this was something magical, something so far outside of his comfort zone as to be on another planet. He didn’t even know where to begin.

            Compounding things even further was that every piece of technology they had with them was going completely haywire. His prosthetic had to be put into manual override, the automatic fit-by-wire system that made it so intuitive to use had tried to punch him and Huntress in the face multiple times until he switched it off. His watch was displaying symbols not of this world. Most importantly, he couldn’t call for help, as every time he switched on his holo-communicator, it did nothing but display what looked like a younger Huntress dancing happily in a field of flowers.

            Meanwhile, Huntress herself was muttering as if in a dream, even a nightmare at times. She would murmur his name, scream, sob, and sometimes a mix of all three. All Finn could do was watch and hope for the best, holding her close as she worked through whatever hell she had fallen into.

            Finn was sitting upright, asleep with Huntress’s head in his lap, when she finally regained consciousness.

            “Finn.” She croaked, quietly.

            “mmhhhmmm… Alvin’s… hot juice box…”

            “Finn!”

            Finn’s eyes shot open.

            “Huntress!”

            He cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes. They were bloodshot, but her pupils looked normal.

            “How do you feel?”

            “Ugh… thirsty. Hungry.”

            Finn put a water canteen on her lips as she sat up, then began heating some food he had previously prepared for exactly this moment.

            Huntress took long, repeated swigs from the canteen. “Thank you.” She said, wiping her lips.  

            “Huntress, what the heck happened?”

            “I think my spirit went out of alignment with my body.”

            "Spirit? Out of alignment?" He said, looking worriedly at her. “I take that it’s back… where it’s supposed to be?”

            “I remember... dancing.” She said, as if she were recalling a distant, unknowable dream. "But yes, I think so." She held up her hand, watching it closely as she bent and flexed her fingers. 

            “Yeah.” Finn remembered the eerie scene on his holo-communicator. “I think it's best we head back home. We can do this trip later.”

            Huntress nodded slowly. “I want to check on my people first. Make sure they weren’t hurt by the storm.”

            Finn cleared his throat. “Sure, but I think it's best that you stay put. I'll go alone.”

            “No, I want to be there, and you wouldn’t be able to find them without my help.”

            Finn sighed. He knew there was little he could say to deter her.

            “Alright, Huntress. We can go whenever you’re ready.”

 

            Higa followed his companion in silence, taking note of the terrain. It was a remarkably dense forest with thick undergrowth. 

            “What is your name?” His companion asked, looking back over shoulder. 

            “Higa, and yours?”

            “Altekoi of the Grey Woods.”

            “These are the Grey Woods?”

            “Yes. My village is not far. If other hunters had come across your companions, that is where they would most likely be taken.”

            “I appreciate your hospitality, Altekoi.”

            “Your gratitude is welcome, friend, but know that we may not be able to help you. This is not a good time for visitors. We are beset by perils from all sides.”

            “Perils?”

            “Poachers and brigands roam these lands.”

            Higa was confused. He’d seen the strength and grace of their warriors. One of them, at least.

            “Can you not defend yourselves from common highwaymen? I was waylaid by what I believe was one of your kind, and their lethality was unquestionable, far beyond any common criminal.”

            “Ah. That was most likely the one of the outcasts. They are not of us. We are not warriors. It is not our way.”

            “You will not defend yourselves?” Higa asked, incredulously.

            “It is the way of things. Come, we are here.”

            Altekoi led Higa into a clearing which was bisected by a shallow river. Huts and tents were scattered around in various shapes and sizes, and he saw others of Altekoi’s kind carrying baskets, skinning game, and other day-to-day tasks. A small group of children were running around, laughing and chasing each other. It brought a tired smile to Higa’s face.

            Higa also noticed that a number of huts were damaged, with a few smaller ones having fully collapsed. He hoped no-one was seriously hurt.

 

            “Look!” He heard someone cry. “Altekoi’s found another one!”

A small group of hunters ran to greet them. Higa saw a familiar face among them.

            “Artus!”

            “Higa!”

            They pair grabbed each other’s hand and pulled into a short embrace.

            “I thought we’d lost you!” Artus said.

            “And you as well, old friend. Any others?”

            “Too few, Higa.”

            “…and Naikaris?”

            “He’s alive, but only just.”

 

            The forest folk had put Naikairis and the few other survivors in one of their remaining vacant huts. Higa found the general unconscious, his head heavily bandaged, and what looked like a shaman burning herbs, praying, and conducting other rituals as some sort of animistic healing ritual.

            Aside from Naikaris, Artus, and Higa, the only crew that had been found were three scouts and the junior tidecaster.

            “So few.” Higa said, distraught. “What do we do now?”

            “I don’t know. I’d ask the Naikaris, but they say he may never wake up.”

            Higa faced Artus. “Then it is up to you.”

            “Then I would continue our mission.”

            “What about him?” Higa said, gesturing at Naikaris. “We can’t just leave him here.”

            “What can we do? We can’t transport him all the way to the Flame Kingdom like that, and even if we could, he likely wouldn’t survive the journey. They won’t even let us move him in this state.”

            “I…”

            “Our mission is clear, Higa. We’ll wait a week, at most, then move on. That’s an order.”

            Higa was about to object but held his tongue. Naikaris had a week to wake up. There was still hope.

            “There’s something else, Higa.”

            “What?”

            “We’re being hunted. Bandit Princess survived the wreck. I saw her leading a group of brigands along the shore, looking for us. She found and captured three of the other scouts that I could see. I don’t know who it was, it was too far away.”

            “Did they follow us here?”

            “Couldn’t say, but we should leave as soon as we can.”

            Damn it all, Higa thought, the colonel was right. They couldn’t stay here.

            “Do you think we can trust these folks?” Higa asked, quietly.

            “They have been more than hospitable. They have kept us well fed, despite being on the edge of starvation.”

            “Why would they help us so?”

            “They say that is the way of things. I myself won’t look a gift seahorse in the mouth.”

 

 

            Seraphina looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a banana costume, her official uniform. Ridiculous.

            When she went downstairs, she saw Ogun sitting at the Kitchen table reading a flame-resistant newspaper. He looked up at her with a blank expression.

            “I am not even going to ask.” He said, before turning his attention back to his newspaper.

            “Hmm.” She replied.

            Seraphina entered the living room, seeing Phaera on the couch looking through class materials. Her faux-daughter looked up and immediately burst out laughing, covering her mouth in a completely pointless attempt to conceal it.

            “Yes, very funny.” Seraphina said, her voice flat as she left her front door.

            The banana guard precinct was located not far from her home, likely by design.

The first order of business was reporting to the precinct chief. Once that was done, she would have unrestricted access to daily reports to assess any possible local threats to Phaera.

            “Deputy Seraphina, reporting for duty.” She said, standing at attention in front of the chief’s desk.

            “Oh, hello deputy. Patrol schedule is on the wall. Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your stay!”

 

            Her first patrol was not until the evening. She had time to kill.

            The banana guards, despite their wimpy demeanor and ridiculous sense of fashion, wrote decently competent reports. They were detailed and efficiently laid out.

            That was most certainly Princess Bubblegum’s doing.

            As she perused through recent events, she noticed a few trends. Most were routine. Crime had risen since the invasion of the Fire Kingdom, which made sense, especially seeing as the crimes were mostly related to the purchase and transport of illicit goods. There had also been a rise of ethnic violence between Fire Kingdom refugees and anyone involved with the Sea Kingdom, also pretty usual fare.

            What got her attention was the presence of a small terror cell that had mounted several attacks against public infrastructure. They were theorized to be based out of the sewers, and their stated goals, as revealed in manifestos left behind at the sites that were attacked, was the fall of the Candy Kingdom and the ascendancy of the Sea Kingdom. The reports said nothing about their appearance or composition.

            Seraphina surmised that they likely didn’t know about Phaera’s presence, and likely wouldn’t even care considering their stated political goals. The attacks themselves were the major issue, as a school is a big, soft, target for the unscrupulous. She would keep a very close eye on this.

           

            It was evening when Seraphina reported in for patrol duty. She was assigned a banana guard as her team leader; auxiliaries could not lead teams, which she was forced to admit made sense.

Still, the little dweeb was already getting on her nerves. They were seemingly oblivious to their surroundings and didn’t have a shred of initiative, only responding when something was in their direct line of sight. Suspicion and following up with rumors and trends didn’t seem to be something they were apt to do, which Seraphina found to be enormously frustrating.

The night passed by without much happening, with only a few incidents of vandalism (mostly tagging) and an accidental injury. She didn’t do much other than take reports. It was, all in all, rather relaxing work. If this was the day-to-day, this would be easy money indeed.

 

 

            “You ready?” asked Finn.

            “Yes.” Replied the wizard, shakily getting to her feet.

            “Are you sure?”

            Huntress glared at him. “I’m fine. I just can’t go fast right now.”

            Back on the trail, Huntress was proceeding at a quicker pace than he predicted, even though she was leaning on a walking stick to keep herself steady. “At this pace, it’s going to take most of today to make this village of yours.” Said Finn.

            “I know.” She said, not looking back at him.  

            “What will we do when we get there?”

            “You’re going to see if they are alright or need any help.”

            “So, business as usual for me.”

            “You could say that.” She said, giving him a brief glance and the flash of a smile.

            “Sounds good to me.”

            A few moments passed until Huntress suddenly stopped.

            “Uh, honey? What’s up?”

            He saw Huntress grasping at pendant she was wearing. Something she often wore, but never really talked about.

            “We have to get to village.” She said, before setting off at an even faster pace.

 

 

            “Higa, we have trouble.” It was Artus.

            Quickly getting to his feet, he saw the trouble directly in the window. A small group of brigands, five of them, were talking angrily with one of the forest folk, who appeared to be an elder or some other kind of leader. They were at the very edge of the clearing, not quite within the small village.

            The leader of the forest folk was accompanied by two hunters, who took position on either side of him. They looked like the rest of the folks in the village, albeit they now had spears in addition to their bows.

A third hunter was nearby, seemingly with, but also distinct, from the forest folk. He was taller and more muscular than the hunters, and he wore a thin, black mask covering his eyes and was armed with a bow and 2-handed axe. He looked to be wearing a full suit of heavy leather armor with a green cloak draped across his back. Unlike the other forest folk, he had a thick beard of leaves in addition to the typical leafy hair.

            That’s when Higa noticed a fourth hunter behind the brigands. He was armed with a spear and a bow, and had some sort of marking on his forehead, perhaps a tattoo or brand, it was difficult to make out at this distance.           

            Listening closely, he was barely able make out what they were saying. They were a good distance away, but the village was silent for the time being, and the river was quiet.

            “… And I know they are here, I saw them.” Said the lead brigand.

            “I will do what I can about providing more food, but our stores are dwindling. We can’t provide what we don’t have. As for our guests, they aren’t your concern.” Said the leader of the forest folk. “They are in the circle and thus under our protection. Once they leave, you may do with them as you wish, but here in this village they will remain until such time as they leave the boundaries of our home.”

            “You don’t know who you are messing with, old man. It would be wise if you would give them to us now, for your own sake.”

            “It would be wise for you to shut up!” The axe wielding hunter moved like a flash, instantly decapitating two of the brigands. Another two tried to fight but were swiftly cut down. The last two fled, screaming.  

            The fourth hunter, the one behind the brigands, had their bow drawn and fired at the village leader; the shot was deflecting by the axe from the masked hunter.

            “Letis, you little traitor, I’ll gut you like a wild boar!” the masked hunter roared.

            The fourth hunter leaped high into the tree with a single leap. “You’ll have to catch me first, coward! I’ll be back with some more friends! Don’t you worry.”

            The masked hunter drew his bow and began rapidly firing at the retreating foe, but they were too fast, dodging his fire by leaping from tree to tree until they were out of sight.

            “Damn it!” Cried the masked hunter, who briefly glanced at the village elder.

            “I say to the woods,” the masked warrior bellowed, “that it would be wise for the outsiders to speak to an outcast.”

            The village elder turned and began walking in the direction of Higa’s and his companion’s hut. Higa went out to meet them.

            “You must speak to the woods.” Said the leader, before passing by without another word.

 

            As Higa approached the edge of the clearing, the masked hunter stayed just outside the border of the village.

            “You folks have really complicated my day.” The hunter said, leaning on his axe. “When can you depart?”

            “One of us cannot move or they will die. Head injury.”

            “I was afraid you were going to say something like that.” The hunter sighed. “They’ll be back, and there will be too many for me to face alone.”

            “How many?”

            “20 or so. I’m good, but not that good. I’ve contacted a few friends, but I do not know if they will be here in time. We need to discuss contingencies.”

            “I…yes. I will fetch the elder.” Higa said, turning towards the village.

            “No!”

            Higa froze.

            “Why?”

            “I am Korin, an outcast. I cannot address nor be addressed in this village.”

            “I see, then I will visit him after we are done here.”

            “That’s the idea.”

            “Now,” Korin said, “what is going on and why are these people hunting you?”

            “We are diplomatic couriers from the Sea Kingdom.” Higa lied.

            “Then I suppose you have some sort of top secret message they are trying to intercept?”

            “Something like that, though I cannot fathom why they would want this information. In any case, here we are.”

            “Here we are indeed. You sea folk have a way of kicking up trouble.”

            “I won’t argue with that.”

            That elicited a grim chuckle from Korin. Then he got serious.

            “Higa, I will do what I can to defend my people, and they will do everything they can to defend you, but know that they are not warriors, and I can only do so much.”

            “I understand. We will lend our strength to the fight. We have five who are fit for battle.”

            Korin nodded, then said. “I only have one further question, then: would you sacrifice these people for your own welfare?”

            Higa took a moment to consider this. He considered himself a man of honor, and these people were not only innocent but also their saviors. Their hospitality was nothing short of a miracle for them. They didn’t deserve to be caught up in this.

            He also knew that Naikaris would have them move him, even if it would kill him.

            Then Higa thought of the battalions lost in the invasion of the Fire Kingdom, and the terrible power of the Ash Queen. He thought of all the young sea folk who would die if he failed his mission. He thought of Naikaris, and his daughter, also under the blade.

            “If it were up to me, Korin, I… would give myself up, but the success or failure of our mission will determine the fate of thousands of lives. It’s not just about me.”

            “Very well,” Korin replied. “My question was more out of curiosity than anything. This fight was inevitable. Your unconscious friend is just a garnish. These bastards have been driving my people to starvation the last two months. Soon, they won’t be able to fight at all. It ends tomorrow.”

“Then we really don’t have a choice.”

“We do not.”

 

 

“We do have a choice, Higa.” Artus said.

“We are leaving. Now. If we move quickly, the battle here will delay and distract them while we flee. This is what Naikaris would want!”

“No, Artus, I do not believe that for one second. We are of the Sea Ki… you know who we are, and what our oath is. Does that mean nothing?”

“Yes, we protect the defenseless of our own people.”

“Oath doesn’t make that distinction, Artus.”

“It’s damn well implied!” Artus spat. The colonel paced back and forth, the others in the group watching the officer’s argument with trepidation.

“Higa, we are leaving. That is an order.”

“Court Martial me then.”

“Don’t test me!” Artus yelled, drawing his dagger and pointing it at Higa. Artus froze when he felt a faint, but sharp pressure on his throat. It was a spear tip.

“All here are under our protection within the circle.” It was one of the forest folk. Slowly looking around, Artus saw two other hunters with arrows notched, their bows aimed directly at him.

“Fine.” The colonel calmly said. “Everyone else grab your things, we are leaving. Now.”

Higa passively watched his compatriots leave, one by one. Seeing Artus walking toward him, he visibly grew tense.

“Higa, I…” Artus sighed and held out his hand. “I’m sorry.”

Higa relaxed, then shook Artus’s hand.

“Good luck, old friend.” Artus said.

“And to you as well.” Higa replied.

Artus turned to leave, but stopped at the doorway, looking over his shoulder. “I am starting in the Flame Kingdom as planned. If you survive this, go to the Candy Kingdom. I will follow.  Find out what you can. Watch the southern walls for the symbols we discussed to make contact.”

“Aye. Stay safe.”

“You too. Give Naikaris my regards if he wakes up.”